JOHNHB.LATRCBE 

AND  HIS  TIMERS 
18O3-1891 

, 

JOHN   E.  5EMME5 


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LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

AND  HIS  TIMES 

1803-1891 


A    LIMITED   EDITION   ONLY   HAS    BEEN 
PRINTED  AND  THE  TYPE  DISTRIBUTED 


.a  , 

/. 


PORTRAIT  OP  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 
Painted  by  Thomas  Sully 


JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

AND  HIS  TIMES 
1803-1891 


BY 


JOHN  E.  SEMMES 


WITH  THIRTY-EIGHT  ILLUSTRATIONS 
IN  COLOR,  AND  BLACK  AND  WHITE 


THE  NORMAN,  REMINGTON  GO. 
BALTIMORE,  MD. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
PAVIS. 


COPYRIGHT,  1917,  BY  THE  NORMAN,  REMINGTON  CO. 


PUBLISHED  OCTOBER,  1917 


PRINTED  BY 

THE  WAVERLY  PRESS 

BALTIMORE,  U.  S.  A. 


e> 


HE  DESIGN  ON  THE  COVER  is  a 
graphic  representation  of  the  life  of 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe. 


The  axes  on  either  side  are  the  fasces  of  the 
law  which  constituted  the  chief  activity  of  his 
career.  The  medallion  in  the  lower  centre  recalls 
his  West  Point  service  and  the  architectural 
honor  which  came  to  him  when  his  design  was 
selected  for  the  monument  to  the  Polish  patriot, 
Kosciuszko,  which  was  erected  at  the  Military 
Academy.  His  architectural  ability  is  further 
emphasized  by  the  reproduction  in  the  upper 
centre  of  his  design  for  the  buildings  at  White 
Sulphur  Springs,  known  as  the  Baltimore  Cot 
tages.  The  book  in  the  small  circle  at  the  left 
testifies  to  his  literary  proclivities;  while  the  circle 
at  the  right  bears  evidence  to  his  prominence 
in  Masonry  as  the  Grand  Master  of  the  State 
of  Maryland. 

The  circle  on  the  lower  left  is  a  reminder  of  his 
unique  services  to  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail 
road  \vhich  he  served  faithfully  and  unselfishly 
from  its  organization  until  his  death  in  1891. 
The  circle  at  the  right  recalls  the  early  days  of 
the  steamboat,  when  as  a  boy  he  frequented 
his  father's  works  in  Pittsburgh  and  watched  the 
building  of  those  boats  which  were  the  pioneers 
of  steam  power  on  the  western  waters. 

Finally,  the  Indian  peace  pipes  bear  eloquent 
testimony  to  the  vital  assistance  which  he  ren 
dered  to  the  Indian  nations  of  Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws  in  their  long  and  hard  fight  after  the 
Civil  War  to  preserve  their  lands  and  moneys 
from  the  threatened  confiscation  of  the  United 
States  government. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I.  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  Father  of  John  H.  B. 
Latrobe  arrives  in  this  country,  1796 — Difference  in  Trans 
portation  and  Communication,  due  to  Steam  and  Electric 
ity — The  Civilization  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  owes  its 
great  Advancement  to  this — The  Elder  Latrobe  Architect 
of  Capitol — Social  Life  in  Washington — First  Trip  by 
Steamboat  down  the  Mississippi  in  1812,  Made  by  Nicholas 
J.  Roosevelt  and  Lydia  Latrobe,  His  Wife,  the  Sister  of 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe — Fulton's  Claim  as  Inventor  of 
Steamboat 1 

CHAPTER  II.  From  1803  to  1818— Date  of  Mr.  Latrobe's 
Entering  West  Point — Life  in  Washington — First  Theatrical 
Experience — Early  Associates — Madame  Bonaparte — Naval 
Ball— Family  Left  Washington  1812— Trip  to  Wheeling 
by  Carriage — Life  in  Pittsburgh  Building  Steamboats — 
Return  to  Washington  1815 — Georgetown  College — Left 
Washington  for  Baltimore  1817 — Death  of  Benjamin  H. 
Latrobe  in  New  Orleans  1820 34 

CHAPTER  III.    Life  at  West  Point  1818-1821 67 

CHAPTER  IV.  Return  to  Baltimore,  1821 — Study  of  Law  in 

the  Office  of  General  Harper 96 

CHAPTER  V.  Mr.  Latrobe's  Connection  with  Things  Military, 
After  Leaving  West  Point  in  1821 — His  Association  of 
Six  Years  with  Militia — Reception  of  Lafayette  in  Baltimore 
1824 — Trip  to  Philadelphia  in  Command  of  Light  Infantry 
Company — Monument  to  Kosciuszko  at  West  Point — 
President,  Board  of  Visitors,  West  Point  in  1849 — His 
Annual  Visit  to  West  Point — His  Relations  with  General 
Thayer — The  Three  Battles — Friendship  with  General 
Gibbon 116 

CHAPTER  VI.    American  Colonization 139 

CHAPTER  VII.  Mr.  Latrobe  as  a  Lawyer — Friends  and  Ac 
quaintances — Baltimore  in  1824 172 

CHAPTER  VIII.  Courtship  and  Marriage  of  Mr.  Latrobe  and 
Miss  Margaret  Stuart 227 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX.  Description  of  Montpelier — University  of  Vir 
ginia — Monticello  and  the  White  Sulphur  Springs,  as  Mr. 
Latrobe  saw  them  in  1832 238 

CHAPTER  X.  Mr.  Latrobe 's  Marriage  to  Miss  Claiborae — 
Short  Account  of  her  Family— The  "Claiborne  Rebellion."  260 

CHAPTER  XI.  Life  after  Second  Marriage — Acquaintances 
and  Clients — Friendship  with  Charles  Harper  and  his 
Estrangement  due  to  His  Marriage — The  Settlement  of 
the  Controversy  over  the  Will  and  Codicil  of  Charles 
Carroll  of  CarroUton 284 

CHAPTER  XII.  Trip  to  New  Orleans  by  Sea  and  Return  by 
Land,  1834 — Raiders  and  Natchez  Trip — New  Orleans  and 
the  Quadroon  Ball — Trip  in  1835  to  New  Orleans  and 
Return  with  Wife  to  White  Sulphur  Springs 302 

CHAPTER  XIII.  History  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  great  Client,  The 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  and  its  Conflict  with  the 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company  for  the  Valley  of  the 
Potomac 320 

CHAPTER  XIV.  Acquaintances  formed  by  Mr.  Latrobe  after 
1830  and  Students  who  Studied  in  His  Office — Directors 
of  the  Union  Bank  and  Counsel — Bank  Riots,  1835 364 

CHAPTER  XV.  The  Maryland  Institute — The  Maryland 
Historical  Society — Latrobe  Justice's  Practice — Masonry — 
J.  P.  Kennedy — Painter — Greenmount — Mr.  Latrobe's 
Poetic  Talent 412 

CHAPTER  XVI.  The  Fireplace  Heater — Experiences  in  Politics — 
Architectural  Efforts— "Fairy  Knowe" — Rev.  Peter  La 
trobe — Cost  of  Living  in  1830 — Narrow  Escape  from  Ruin 
by  Robbery — State  of  Maryland  Debt — Trip  to  Europe, 
1847 442 

CHAPTER  XVII.  Trip  to  Europe  in  1857— Counsel  for  the 
Winans  Railroad  Interests  in  Russia 469 

CHAPTER  XVIII.  First  Meeting  with  Indians,  1832— Con 
tract  with  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws,  1868 529 

CHAPTER  XLX.  Mr.  Latrobe's  Connection  with  the  first  Tele 
graph  Company— Druid  Hill  Park— Edgar  Allan  Poe— 
Last  Case  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Maryland — Last 
Years  1881-1891 548 

Latrobe  Genealogy 575 

Index 581 

Topical  Index .   597 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Color  Plates  are  indicated  by  an  asterisk 

*PORTRAIT  OF  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE.    Painted  by  Thomas  Sully. 

Frontispiece 
CAPITAL  OF  CORINTHIAN  COLUMN.    Showing  Ears  of  Corn, 

Designed  by  B.  H.  Latrobe  for  the  Capitol  in  Washington    10 
CAPITAL  OF  CORINTHIAN  COLUMN.    Showing  Native  Tobacco 
Plant  Leaves,  designed  by  B.  H.  Latrobe  for  the  Capitol    12 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON.    Drawn  by  B.  H.  Latrobe 14 

*MONTICELLO.    Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 48 

A  SILHOUETTE  OF  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE  AND  PENCIL  SKETCH 

OF  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE.    By  himself 96 

*THE  TOMBIGBEE  RIVER.    Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 108 

MONUMENT  TO  KOSCIUSZKO.    At  the  Military  Academy,  West 

Point,  designed  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 124 

GOLD  MEDAL  WON  BY  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE.    In  Competition 

for  best  Design  of  a  Monument  to  Kosciuszko 126 

*CANAL  AROUND  THE  FALLS  OF  THE  OHIO.    Painted  by  John 

H.  B.  Latrobe 164 

MRS.  WARING  AS  MARGARET.    In  "A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old 

Debts."    Drawn  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 186 

THE  ELDER  BOOTH  AS  SIR  GILES  OVERREACH.    Drawn  by 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe 188 

*LOUISVILLE  (UPPER  LANDING),  1832.    Painted  by  John  H.  B. 

Latrobe 204 

*LANDING  AT  THREE  RIVERS,  1830.    Painted  by  John  H.  B. 

Latrobe 236 

*WHITE   SULPHUR   SPRINGS,   1832.    Painted  by  John   H.  B. 

Latrobe 242 

*LAWN  OF  THE  WHITE  SULPHUR,  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS,  1832. 

Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 248 

vii 


viii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

*BALTIMORE  COTTAGES,  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS.    Painted  by 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe 254 

*DINING  ROOM,  STAGE  OFFICE,  ETC.,  AT  THE  WHITE  SULPHUR, 

1832.    Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 258 

*JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE  WITH  THE  CLAIBORNE  FAMILY  AT  BOTE- 

TOURT  SPRINGS,  VIRGINIA.    By  himself 262 

WESTERN  BLOCK  HOUSE,  FORT  ARMSTRONG  ON  THE  MISSIS 
SIPPI  RIVER.    Drawn  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 270 

FORT  SNELLING,  ST.  PETER'S,  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI.    Drawn  by 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe. 274 

*PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE.    Painted  by  Thomas 

Sully 280 

•"CINCINNATI  (LOOKING  UP  THE  OHIO),  1832.    Painted  by  John 

H.  B.  Latrobe 302 

*NEAR  THE  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS.    Painted  by  John  H. 

B.  Latrobe .308 

*FALLS  OF  THE  KENAWHA.     Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 318 

JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE  AT  THE  AGE  OF  76 340 

LADY'S  HAND  AND  ARM.    Drawn  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  in 

his  15th  year 426 

"ILLUSTRATION  FOR  THE  NOVEL  "HORSE  SHOE  ROBINSON,"  BY 

JOHN  P.  KENNEDY.    Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 436 

HEATER  INVENTED  BY  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE.    Known  as  the 

Latrobe  Stove 442 

COAT  OF  ARMS  OF  THE  LATROBES 448 

THE  WALHALLA  ON  THE  DANUBE.    Drawn  by  John  H.  B. 

Latrobe 458 

OUTLINE  OF  THE  HORIZON  AT  ROME.    Drawn  by  John  H.  B. 

Latrobe 468 

*PASS  OF  JAMES  RIVER,   2   MILES  BELOW  BALCONY  FALLS. 

Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 482 

JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE.    At  the  Age  of  54 490 

PRINCE  GORTSCHAKOFF 498 

*FALLS  OF  THE  OHIO.    Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 514 

WASSILY  AND  PIOTTER.    Servants  of  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 526 

RECEIPT  GIVEN  TO  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE.    As  one  of  the  Sub 
scribers  to  the  first  Telegraph  Company  ever  Organized. .  548 
*MEMPHIS,  MISSISSIPPI,  1832.    Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe.  560 


JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE  AND  HIS  TIMES 

1803-1891 

CHAPTER  I 
BENJAMIN  H.  LATROBE,  FATHER  OF  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

ARRIVES  IN  THIS  COUNTRY,  1796 — DIFFERENCE  IN  TRANS 
PORTATION  AND  COMMUNICATION,  DUE  TO  STEAM  AND 
ELECTRICITY — THE  CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  NINETEENTH 
CENTURY  OWES  ITS  GREAT  ADVANCEMENT  TO  THIS — THE 
ELDER  LATROBE  ARCHITECT  OF  CAPITOL — SOCIAL  LIFE 
IN  WASHINGTON — FIRST  TRIP  BY  STEAMBOAT  DOWN  THE 
MISSISSIPPI  IN  1812,  MADE  BY  NICHOLAS  J.  ROOSEVELT 
AND  LYDIA  LATROBE,  HIS  WIFE,  THE  SISTER  OF  JOHN  H.  B. 
LATROBE — FULTON'S  CLAIM  AS  INVENTOR  OF  STEAMBOAT 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe  was  the  eldest  son  of  his  father's 
second  marriage.  He  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on  the 
4th  of  May  1803,  and  died  on  the  llth  of  September  1891, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-eight.  His  father,  Benjamin  H.  La 
trobe,  was  born  in  England  in  1764.  His  first  wife  was 
Lydia  Sellen,  whom  he  married  in  1790.  She  died  in 
1793,  leaving  two  children,  Henry  S.  and  Lydia;  and 
two  years  later  Mr.  Latrobe  sailed  for  America,  embarking 
on  Christmas  Day,  1795.  He  reached  Norfolk  on  the  17th 
of  March  1796,  almost  four  months  from  the  date  of  his 
leaving  England. 

In  those  days  the  world  moved  slowly.  No  change  had 
been  made  in  methods  of  transportation  and  communica 
tion  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It 
took  as  long  to  travel  from  Paris  to  London  in  1810,  as  it 
did  in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar.  The  nineteenth  century 


2  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

was  destined  to  be  the  period  of  the  world's  greatest  prog 
ress;  which  was  embraced  in  the  life  of  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  1803  to  1891,  and  was  due  to  the  development 
of  rapid  transportation,  accomplished  by  steam,  and  rapid 
communication  by  electricity.  In  both  of  these  John  H. 
B.  Latrobe  took  an  active  part. 

In  Mr.  Latrobe 's  "West  Point  Reminiscences"  we  find 
the  following: 

"In  December  1817,  when  I  was  fourteen  years  old,  I 
was  appointed  a  cadet  and  directed  to  report  myself  at 
West  Point  for  examination  in  September  of  the  following 
year.  On  my  last  visit  to  West  Point,  in  1886,  I  left  Balti 
more  in  a  luxurious  railroad  car,  between  8  and  9  o'clock 
a.m.  and  dined  the  same  day  at  the  West  Point  Hotel,  at 
5  p.m.  In  1818  I  left  Baltimore  between  8  and  9  o'clock 
a.m.  in  one  of  the  earlier  steamboats  and  reached  French- 
town  towards  evening,  when  I  was  carried  by  stage  across 
the  Peninsula  to  New  castle,  where  I  slept;  and  on  the 
following  morning  reached  Philadelphia  by  a  Delaware 
River  steamboat,  about  noon.  The  next  day  a  steamboat 
took  me  to  Trenton,  and  by  stage  again  I  got  to  New  Bruns 
wick  where  I  slept;  and  the  day  after  by  another  steam 
boat  I  was  landed  in  New  York. 

"At  this  time,  there  were  but  four  steamboats  on  the 

Hudson I  was  told  at  the  hotel  where  I  dined 

that  if  I  took  an  Albany  sloop,  numbers  of  which  were  at 
the  wharves  close  by,  I  would  reach  West  Point  in  season 

for  breakfast  the  following  day I  thus  began 

what  might  have  been  called  the  seventh  instalment — by 
steam,  stage  and  sail — of  a  journey  which  had  grown  to  be  as 
important  in  my  eyes  as  though  I  had  been  Hendrick  Hudson 
himself,  seeking  by  this  route  a  highway  to  Cathay." 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  3 

In  order  to  give  an  account  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  early  life 
and  associations,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  character 
and  life  of  the  elder  Latrobe,  at  least  from  the  time  of  his 
landing  in  this  country  at  Norfolk  in  1796  to  his  death  in 
New  Orleans  in  1820.  He  had  passed  three  years  at  the 
University  of  Leipsic,  one  of  the  leading  Universities  of 
Europe.  He  subsequently  studied  architecture  and  civil 
engineering  and  was  appointed  Surveyor  of  public  build 
ings  in  London.  He  was  offered  the  office  of  Surveyor 
to  the  Crown,  with  a  salary  of  £1,000  per  annum;  but  the 
death  of  his  wife  and  his  desire  to  cast  his  lot  in  a  new 
country  led  him  to  decline  this  offer,  and,  as  above  related, 
we  find  him  in  Norfolk,  Va.  He  left  Norfolk  and  went  to 
Richmond,  in  order  to  investigate  the  James  River  naviga 
tion.  During  his  stay  in  Virginia  he  made  several  surveys 
for  the  Dismal  Swamp  Company.  He  visited  President 
Washington  at  Mount  Vernon.  Like  his  son,  John  H.  B. 
Latrobe,  he  was  a  great  admirer  of  beauty,  and  his  tribute 
to  Miss  Custis  shows  his  high  appreciation  of  that  lady's 
good  looks.  He  writes  as  follows: 

"Miss  Eleanor  Custis,  the  only  one  of  four  sisters  who 
is  unmarried,  has  more  perfection  of  form,  of  expression,  of 
color,  of  softness,  and  of  firmness  of  mind  than  I  have  ever 
seen  before,  or  conceived  consistent  with  mortality." 

While  in  Virginia,  he  designed  the  penitentiary,  reported 
upon  the  Appomattox  and  James  Rivers  and  designed  a 
number  of  houses  in  Richmond.  He  left  Virginia  in  1798 
to  live  in  Philadelphia.  There  he  was  employed  to  build 
the  Bank  of  Philadelphia;  and  he  also  superintended  the 
introduction  of  the  water  supply  into  the  city.  The  Bank 
of  Philadelphia  is  the  work  most  strongly  relied  upon  to 
establish  Mr.  Latrobe's  reputation  as  an  architect  of  high 
merit.  The  compliment  which  he  treasured  most  and  which 


4  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

he  has  taken  pains  to  record  is  a  criticism  which  he  over 
heard  in  a  conversation  between  two  French  officers  who 
were  looking  at  the  building.  One  exclaimed:  "C'est 
beau,  et  si  simple." 

It  was  in  Philadelphia  that  he  met  the  lady  he  made  his 
second  wife,  Mary  Elizabeth  Hazlehurst,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Hazlehurst  who  was  the  partner  in  business  of  Robert  Morris, 
the  great  financier  of  the  American  Revolution.  He  made 
his  residence  in  Philadelphia  until  the  year  1807.  He  was 
engaged  in  1803  in  making  a  survey  and  route  of  a  canal 
to  connect  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Bays.  He  had 
reported  it  as  feasible  in  1799.  He  was  then  called  to 
Washington  by  President  Jefferson  and  employed  to  com 
plete  the  Capitol,  commenced  under  the  administration  of 
General  Washington.  Mr.  Latrobe  moved  among  the  best 
people  of  the  day.  He  was  a  highly  educated  man;  had 
command  of  several  languages;  was  a  naturalist  of  con 
siderable  reputation,  and,  like  his  son,  was  a  man  of  many 
accomplishments. 

In  the  "Journal  of  Latrobe,"  published  by  D.  Appleton 
&  Company  in  1905,  Mr.  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  the  habits  of  the  mud-daubers,  a 
species  of  wasps. 

"As  a  boy  I  was  fond  of  collecting  spiders,  and  in  an  old, 
abandoned  stone  house,  minus  the  window  frames,  I  found 
the  mud-daubers  had  constructed  their  nests,  generally 
consisting  of  three  cylinders  of  mud.  An  egg  was  laid  in 
each  outside  cylinder,  and  the  center  cylinder  was  filled 
with  the  most  beautiful  spiders.  These  seemed  to  be  stupe 
fied — not  dead.  Here  they  awaited  their  fate.  The  egg 
hatches  into  a  grub  or  worm — the  grub  eats  through  the 
division  wall,  and  consumes  the  spiders. 

"There  is  much  discussion  as  to  whether  insects  and 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  5 

animals  act  from  reason  or  from  instinct.  The  results  are 
the  same. 

"There  are  two  other  instances  which  have  come  under 
my  observation  where  insects  show  great  intelligence  or 
great  instinct.  One  is  the  case  of  the  ant  eater  (I  do  not 
know  its  proper  name).  A  small  insect  of  very  slow  loco 
motive  power,  about  one-half  the  size  of  the  thumb  nail, 
with  strong  mandibles  or  jaws,  incapable  of  securing  his 
food  except  by  strategy.  It  is  very  difficult  to  detect  the 
insect  in  the  dust.  Its  color  (brown)  gives  it  the  same 
complexion  as  the  dirt  it  lives  in.  Under  the  eaves  of 
the  houses  in  the  country  where  the  ground  is  protected 
from  the  rain,  it  digs  a  pit — a  funnel  shaped  affair.  At 
the  bottom,  or  what  would  be  the  apex  of  a  cone,  it  takes 
up  its  position.  Woe  to  the  ant  that  attempts  to  pass  along 
the  sloping  sides  of  the  inverted  cone.  Immediately  a 
cloud  of  dust  appears — the  ant  eater  fillips  up  with  its  legs 
and  feet  small  particles  of  sand,  which  striking  the  ant,  he 
is  carried  down  and  disappears.  Like  the  hunter  who  met 
the  bear,  there  are  no  remains. 

"The  other  case  is  that  of  the  caddis-fly.  In  its  pupa 
state,  it  is  a  water  insect,  built  somewhat  like  a  wasp.  The 
head  and  body  from  which  the  legs  emanate  are  hard  and 
horny.  The  tail  of  the  portion  of  the  body  which  contains 
the  abdomen,  connected  by  a  slender  wasplike  waist  to 
the  rest  of  its  anatomy,  is  soft  and  mushy.  Almost  any 
attack  would  result  fatally.  This  insect  makes  a  most 
beautiful  cylinder  of  mosaic  work,  cemented  together — open 
at  one  end,  and  closed  at  the  other.  It  backs  its  vulnerable 
body  into  this,  and  with  a  coat  of  mail  is  ready  for  the  battle 
of  life,  and  its  enemies  are  unable  to  destroy  it. " 

A  description  of  the  elder  Latrobe  is  contained  in  a 
letter  written  by  his  son  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  to  his  cousin, 
John  Frederick  Bateman. 


6  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"8  June,  1870. 
"My  dear  Cousin 

"I  have  forwarded  to  your  London  address  a  copy  which 
I  made  of  Reinhart  Peak's  very  poor  portrait  of  my  father, 
the  only  merit  of  my  work  being  that  it  is  pretty  nearly  a 
facsimile. 

"My  father  was  6  feet  2  inches,  of  erect  and  military  car 
riage.  In  repose  his  face  was  almost  dull.  In  conversation 
it  was  all  animated,  and  his  listeners  thought  him  handsome. 
His  hair  was  very  dark,  with  a  slight  wavy  curl.  He  spoke 
most  living  languages — German,  French,  Spanish,  Portu 
guese  and  Italian  with  fluency,  and  understood  most  dead 
ones,  Greek  and  Latin  thoroughly,  and  knew  a  good  deal  of 
Hebrew;  was  a  clever  poet  and  an  accomplished  musician." 


Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  writes  in  Virginia,  May  31,  1796. 

"I  have  had  considerable  pleasure  since  my  arrival  here 
in  attending  the  different  courts  of  justice  held  in  the  Cap 
ital." 

He  then  discourses  upon  the  absence  of  wigs  in  America, 
and  says  that  in  England  'about  a  century  ago  a  full  bottom 
wig  was  as  necessary  to  a  beau  as  at  present  a  tight  pair  of 
pantaloons  are  to  a  Virginian/  He  then  ridicules  the  wigs. 
The  ladies  of  those  days,  not  to  be  bested  in  the  adorn 
ment  of  their  heads,  built  up  magnificent  structures,  works 
of  art,  which  could  not  be  done  away  with,  but  remained  so 
built  for  some  time;  with  dire  results  in  some  cases,  for  in 
Coke  of  Holkham  we  find  in  Vol.  1,  Folio  232:  'Did  you 
hear  that  my  cousin  Mrs.  Coke  was  brought  to  bed  of  a  dead 
son,  occasioned  by  fright.  A  mouse  got  into  her  night  cap 
and  demolished  the  heir  of  Holkham.'  The  head  dress  hav 
ing  once  been  built,  remained  so,  and  by  reason  of  the  poma- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  7 

turn  used  in  its  structure  was  attractive  to  mice,  as  well 
as  men. 

Quoting  from  the  elder  Latrobe's  diary  we  have  an  interest 
ing  description  of  the  three  leading  lawyers  of  Virginia — 
James  Innes,  John  Marshall,  afterward  chief  Justice,  and 
Edmund  Randolph. 

"Mr.  James  Innes,  Attorney  General  of  the  State  (also  a 
Colonel),  ranks,  I  think,  first  in  genius,  in  force  of  thought,  in 
power  of  expression  and  in  effect  of  voice  and  manner.  He 
is  at  the  same  time  a  man  of  the  most  amiable  and  benevo 
lent  disposition,  open,  generous  and  unreserved;  more  I  think 
of  the  character  of  Charles  Fox,  than  any  other  man  I  ever 
knew.  His  only  fault  is  indolence.  He  has  been  known  to 
return  a  fee  of  ten  guineas,  because  he  had  neglected,  from 
mere  indolence,  to  give  a  short  opinion  and  cared  not  to  leave 
his  bed,  in  which  he  was  reading,  to  consider  the  case.  Speak 
ing  of  his  first-rate  abilities  to  Jack  Stewart,  he  gave  this 
opinion  upon  them,  which  I  believe  to  be  founded  on  truth. 
'Sir,'  said  he,  'you  admire  Innes  with  good  reason,  for  you 
have  heard  him  only  speak  on  the  right  side.  Your  opinion 
would  change  were  you  to  hear  him  defend  a  bad  cause. 
You  would  find  him  so  embarrassed  and  embroiled  with  the 
honesty  of  his  own  heart,  as  to  make  no  hand  at  all  at  it.' 
A  gentleman,  who  was  present,  repeated  to  me  the  following 
close  of  a  speech  upon  liberty  of  conscience  made  some  years 
ago  in  the  Virginia  Assembly.  'May  she'  said  he,  'lift  her 
head  to  the  footstool  of  the  Almighty,  may  the  whole  earth 
be  covered  by  her  mantle,  and  may  she  embrace  all  human 
nature  in  her  arms.'  Has  Demosthenes  anything  more 
sublime?  The  public  opionin  gives  then  next  rank  as  an 
orator  to  Edmund  Randolph,  ci-devant  Secretary  of  State. 
He  speaks  slowly,  smilingly,  in  a  musical  voice  with  selected 
phraseology,  a  polished  gentle  manner,  and  with  a  plentiful 


8  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

flow  of  words.  But  his  slowness  gives  his  hedrer  time  to 
anticipate,  and  renders  him  impatient  for  the  end  of  his 
period.  His  smiles  seem  only  to  swim  on  the  surface  of  his 
utterances.  The  sweetness  of  his  tones  does  not  reconcile  one 
to  a  corrected  turn  of  language  and  a  selection  of  words  appar 
ently  laborious.  His  manners  seem  to  have  been  polished 
in  the  school  of  dissimulation,  and  the  storehouse  of  his  words 
seems  to  be  his  head,  not  his  heart.  At  the  instant  he  labors 
to  persuade  the  jury  he  seems  to  be  unconvinced  himself, 
and  to  be  ignorant  that  ars  est  celare  artem.  The  coarse  praise 
bestowed  by  a  countryman  upon  James  Innes  will  never 
be  earned  by  the  quondam  secretary — '  He  has  his  belly  full 
of  words  and  they  come  pouring  along  like  a  great  fresh.' 
Perhaps  he  would  have  said  'Randolph  has  his  head  full  of 
words,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  end  of  them. '  Considering 
all  the  circumstances  of  the  political  history  of  Edmund 
Randolph,  I  cannot  help  thinking  the  political  allusions  in 
his  speeches  upon  all  sorts  of  law  cases  are  ill-judged.  In 
the  case  of  Tayloe,  in  which  a  suit  was  commenced  to  divide 
equally  among  his  sisters,  upon  the  principle  of  a  late  law, 
the  property  bequeathed  by  his  father  many  years  ago  (1772), 
he  said,  pleading  for  the  equal  division,  that  'his  cause  was 
the  cause  of  the  God  of  nature  against  the  Demon  of 
Aristocracy. ' 

"John  Marshall  (a  general  of  militia)  is  inferior  to  Edmund 
Randolph  in  voice  and  manner,  but  for  talent  he  substitutes 
genius,  and  instead  of  talking  about  his  subject,  he  talks 
upon  it.  He  possesses  neither  the  energy  of  expression  nor 
the  sublimity  of  imagination  of  Innes,  but  he  is  superior  to 
every  other  orator  at  the  bar  of  Virginia  in  closeness  of 
argument,  in  his  most  surprising  talent  of  placing  his  case  in 
that  point  of  view  best  suited  to  the  purpose  he  arms  at, 
throwing  a  blaze  of  light  upon  it  and  of  keeping  the  atten- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  9 

tion  of  his  hearers  fixed  upon  the  object  to  which  he  origi 
nally  directed  it.  He  speaks  like  a  man  of  plain  common 
sense,  while  he  delights  and  informs  the  most  acute.  In  a 
less  captivating  line  of  oratory  than  that  which  signalizes 
Innes,  he  is  equally  great  and  equally  successful.  The  jury 
obey  Innes  from  inclination,  Marshall  from  duty. 

"Mr.  Bushrod  Washington  is  my  friend.  Could  I  think 
impartially  of  him,  I  might  place  my  judgment  upon  paper 
as  of  value.  The  public  voice  places  him  in  the  triumvirate 
of  eminence  with  Innes  and  Marshall. 

"N.  B.  This  opinion  (as  regards  Mr.  Randolph)  was 
written  before  I  had  any  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Randolph,  while  I  was  prejudiced  against  him.  It  is  correct 
as  to  the  effect  of  his  speaking.  But  notwithstanding  the 
partial  view  of  his  character,  which  at  the  time  I  wrote  was 
unavoidable  and  is  here  exhibited,  I  freely  acknowledge 
that  my  subsequent  intercourse  with  him  placed  him  in  a 
light  infinitely  amiable.  To  respect,  nay,  to  love  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  it  is  only  necessary  to  see  him  at  his  fireside — the 
father,  the  husband  and  the  friend."* 

Mr.  Latrobe  frequently  visited  Washington.  It  was  in 
1798  that  he  first  met  Dr.  Wm.  Thornton,  who  was  then  one 
of  the  commissioners  of  Washington  City.  Dr.  Thornton 
was  an  Englishman  born  in  the  West  Indies.  He  invented 

*Edmund  Randolph  was  Secretary  of  State  under  Washington,  when  the  Jay 
treaty  between  the  United  States  and  England  was  pending.  The  French  party 
headed  by  Jefferson  was  outspoken  in  their  opposition  to  any  treaty  being  made 
with  England.  M.  Fauchet,  the  French  minister,  wrote  a  number  of  letters  hi 
•which  he  referred  to  statements  made  to  him  by  Edmund  Randolph,  which,  if 
true,  were,  to  say  the  least,  very  indiscreet.  These  letters  being  brought  to 
Washington's  attention,  he  sent  for  the  Secretary  of  State  and  asked  for  an  ex 
planation  of  Mr.  Randolph's  connection  with  the  matter.  The  latter  thereupon 
sent  in  his  resignation  the  same  day,  August  19,  1795.  He  made  a  statement  in 
tended  as  a  'vindication',  but  it  failed  of  its  purpose;  and  his  public  career  came 
to  an  abrupt  termination.  Moncure  D.  Conway  defends  Edmund  Randolph  in 

work  entitled  'Papers  of  Edmund  Randolph,  &c.' 


10  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

a  flutter  wheel  steamboat,  and  accused  Fulton  of  having 
wrongfully  deprived  him  of  it.  He  was  the  first  Superin 
tendent  of  the  Patent  Office,  and  a  man  of  genius  and  social 
accomplishments.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Bordeaux,  who  had 
come  to  America  from  France.  (Folio  1 — S.  H.  Smith.) 
His  plan  of  design  of  the  Capitol  was  selected  by  President 
Washington.  Dr.  Thornton  was  a  man  of  talent,  but  he 
was  not  an  architect;  in  fact,  he  admits  that  his  knowledge 
of  architecture  was  most  limited.  Mr.  Latrobe  took  charge 
of  the  building  of  the  Capitol  in  1803.  He  was  furnished 
with  a  copy  of  the  plan,  which  was  perfectly  useless.  There 
were  no  details  whatever,  and  in  the  Superintendent's 
office  no  drawings  existed.  In  the  United  States  at  this 
time  the  functions  of  an  architect  were  little  understood; 
very  little  attention  was  given  to  the  construction  or  designs 
of  buildings.  Mr.  Latrobe  found  himself  much  harassed 
by  adverse  criticism  made  by  persons  absolutely  ignorant  of 
the  duties  of  his  position.  In  the  debates  in  Congress  he 
was  designated  as  a  contractor.  He  says  in  one  of  his  letters 
that  he  wished  that  he  had  been  a  contractor,  then  he  could 
have  put  money  in  his  pocket;  for  the  result  of  the  perform 
ance  of  his  duties  for  the  magnificent  sum  of  $1,700.00  per 
annum  had  left  him  poorer  than  when  he  undertook  the  work. 
This  compensation  was  subsequently  increased  to  $3500.00 
per  annum.  Mr.  Latrobe,  while  engaged  in  this  work, 
invented  what  has  been  termed  a  new  order  of  architecture, 
namely,  designs  applied  to  the  capital  of  a  column,  repre 
senting  corn  in  one  instance  and  the  tobacco  plant  in  the  other, 
which  evoked  much  favorable  comment.  Mr.  Latrobe,  in  his 
correspondence  with  Mr.  Jefferson,  describes  these  columns. 
As  an  appreciation  of  their  beauty,  Mr.  Jefferson  had  several 
small  columns  of  similar  design  placed  in  the  portico  at 
Monticello.  The  capital  representing  corn  was  introduced 


Jl 

CAPITAL  OF  CORINTHIAN  COLUMN 
Showing  Ears  of  Corn,  designed  by  B.  H.  Latrobefor  the  Capitol  in  Washington 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  11 

in  the  reconstruction  of  the  Capitol  after  the  fire  in  the 
North  Wing.  This  reconstruction  was  superintended  by 
Mr.  Latrobe  in  1815  to  1817.  The  tobacco  columns  are 
found  in  the  corridor  arcade,  North  Wing. 

Mr.  Latrobe,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Jefferson  hi  1809,  refers  to 
the  capitals  representing  "Indian  Corn",  saying  that  the 
Congressmen  spoke  of  them  as  "corn-cob  capitals."  Mr. 
Robert  Dale  Owens  wrote  to  Mr.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe  on  May 
27,  1848,  in  reference  to  these  capitals,  asking  for  the  orig 
inal  drawing,  which  was  sent  him.  He  stated  in  this  letter 
that  he  was  preparing  a  small  volume  on  "Public  Architec 
ture"  for  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  writer  of  these  memoirs  was  employed  by  Mr.  John 
H.  B.  Latrobe  to  make  a  copy  of  the  correspondence 
between  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  B.  H.  Latrobe  and  others  en 
gaged  in  the  construction  of  the  Capitol.  Constant  complaints 
were  answered  by  Mr.  Latrobe  in  a  courteous  way.  Some 
criticism  was  made  about  the  strength  of  an  arch,  Mr.  La 
trobe  asserting  it  was  not  strong  enough  to  stand  the  weight 
which  would  be  imposed  upon  it,  while  the  other  party  to 
the  controversy  claimed  that  it  was.  Among  the  corre 
spondence  is  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Latrobe,  in  which  he 
states  that  a  few  days  before  the  arch  had  fallen  and 
crushed  its  advocate;  so  this  controversy  was  ended. 

The  novelist,  Charles  Dickens,  on  his  first  visit  to  America, 
made  great  fun  of  our  architectural  efforts.  Mr.  Henry 
Van  Dyke,  speaking  of  American  architecture,  as  exempli 
fied  by  the  bumptious  looking  and  much  bedecked  cottages 
one  sees  asserting  themselves  in  all  their  hideous  ugliness, 
says  that  the  English  may  have  the  "Wren"  architecture, 
but  we  have  the  "English  Sparrow "  architecture.  One  never 
sees  one  of  these  absurd  and  aggressive  looking  buildings 
without  thinking  how  highly  appropriate  was  this  description. 


12  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Mr.  Latrobe  continued  to  work  at  the  Capitol  until  1811, 
when  the  funds  were  exhausted. 

He  was  thrown  with  the  leaders  of  society.  I  have  before 
me  a  letter  to  his  wife  dated  November  30,  1802,  when  he 
dined  with  the  President,  who  repeated  a  rather  risque  story, 
and  another  letter  of  March  18,  1807,  in  which  he  describes 
a  dinner  at  the  President's  and  the  company  he  met  there. 
These  letters  are  both  inserted  as  matters  of  interest. 

Addressed  to  Mrs.  Latrobe,  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia: 

"Washington,  November  24,  1802. 

"Having  employed  my  morning  in  my  business  I  went 
to  dine  with  the  President.  His  two  daughters,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Madison,  Mr.  Lincoln  (Attorney  General),  Dr.  Thorn 
ton,  a  Mrs.  Carter  from  Virginia,  and  Captain  Lewis  (the 
President's  Secretary)  were  the  party.  The  dinner  was 
excellent,  cooked  rather  in  the  French  style  (larded  venison), 
the  dessert  was  profuse  and  extremely  elegant,  and  the  knic- 
knacs,  after  withdrawing  the  cloths,  profuse  and  number 
less.  Wine  in  great  variety,  from  sherry  to  champagne,  and 
a  few  decanters  of  rare  Spanish  wine,  presents  from  Chevalier 
D  'Yrujo.  The  conversation,  of  which  Mr.  Madison  was  the 
principal  leader,  was  incomparably  pleasant,  and  though  Mr. 
Jefferson  said  little  at  dinner  besides  attending  to  the  filling 
of  plates,  which  he  did  with  great  ease  and  grace  for  a  philos 
opher,  he  became  very  talkative  as  soon  as  the  cloth  was 
removed.  The  ladies  stayed  till  five,  and  half  an  hour 
afterwards  the  gentlemen  followed  them  to  the  tea  table, 
where  a  most  agreeable  and  spirited  conversation  was  kept 
until  seven,  when  everybody  withdrew.  It  is  a  long  time 
since  I  have  been  present  at  so  elegant  a  mental  treat.  Lit 
erature,  wit,  and  a  little  business,  with  a  great  deal  of  mis 
cellaneous  remarks  on  agriculture  and  building,  filled  every 


CAPITAL  OF  CORINTHIAN  COLUMN 

Showing  native  tobacco  plant  leaves  designed  by  B.  H.  Latrobefor  the  Capitol  in 

Washington 


At  ™\*4vrto»l  .\l  .&  v4  bsu>  '• 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  13 

minute.  There  is  a  degree  of  ease  in  Mr.  Jefferson's  company 
that  every  one  seems  to  feel  and  to  enjoy.  At  dinner  Mrs. 
Randolph  was  asked  by  Mr.  Carter  to  drink  a  glass  of  wine 
with  him,  and  did  so.  Mr.  Jefferson  told  her  she  was  act 
ing  against  the  health  law.  She  said  she  was  not  acquaint 
ed  with  it,  that  it  must  have  passed  during  her  absence.  He 
replied  that  three  laws  governed  his  table — no  healths,  no 
politics,  no  restraint.  I  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  the  law,  and 
drank  for  the  first  time  at  such  a  party  only  one  glass  of  wine, 
and,  though  I  sat  by  the  President,  he  did  not  invite  me 
to  drink  another." 

"Washington,  November  30,  1802. 
"My  dearest  Mary: 

"I  had  dined  with  the  President,  his  invitation  was  to 
meet  a  small  party  of  friends;  accordingly  I  found  only  three 
besides  myself.  .  .  They  were  all  men  of  science.  .  . 
The  conversation  turned  on  the  best  construction  of  archi 
tecture.  The  difference  between  the  French  and  English 
habits  of  living  as  far  as  they  affect  the  arrangement  of  their 
houses.  .  .  On  several  new  experiments  on  the  property 
of  light;  on  Dr.  Priestly;  on  the  subject  of  emigration;  on 
the  culture  of  the  vine;  on  the  dishonesty  of  Peter  Legox 
and  his  impudence;  on  the  domestic  manners  of  Paris,  and 
the  orthography  of  the  English  and  French  languages.  By 
this  time  the  President  became  very  entertaining,  and  told 
the  following  story: 

"A  number  of  Englishmen  and  some  French  ladies  with 
their  husbands  were  assembled  at  Dr.  Franklin's,  who  spoke 
wretched  French.  Dorcas,  whose  proficiency  was  not  much 
greater,  undertook  on  several  points  to  set  him  to  rights, 
and  had  become  very  ridiculous  by  some  of  her  corrections. 
At  that  moment,  Temple  Franklin*  entered  and,  in  one  of 

*  Temple  Franklin  was  the  son  of  Wm.  Franklin,  the  illegitimate  son  of  Benja 
min  Franklin.  He  died  in  Paris  in  1828. 


14  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

his  freaks  of  assurance,  kissed  the  lady  who  stood  nearest 
to  the  door,  and  then  went  round  the  room  saluting  each  of 
them,  and  last  of  all  he  kissed  Mrs.  Jay.  Mrs.  Jay,  not 
used  to  such  gallantry,  blushed  so  deeply  that  Dr.  Franklin, 
observing  it,  asked  why  she  blushed.  Mrs.  M.  immediately 
answered: — 'Parcqu'il'a  lui  baise  le  derri&re  instead  of  la 
derniere. '  Poor  Dorcas  might  as  well  have  used  the  broad 
English  phrase  of  Moll  Turner. 

"The  races  have  brought  hundreds  to  the  City,  and  among 
the  rest  Judge  and  Mrs.  Washington,  who  called  upon  me 
for  ten  minutes  and  appeared,  and  I  am  sure  were,  so  un- 
feignedly  glad  to  see  me,  that  I  have  not  felt  so  much  pleasure 
since  I  left  home.  You  are  absolutely  bespoke  for  Mt. 
Vernon,  and  no  denial  is  to  be  taken." 

Another  letter  by  Mr.  Latrobe  to  his  wife: — 

"Washington,  March    18,   1807. 

"My  dearest  Love: 

"  .  .  Last  night  I  sat  up  after  dining  at  the  Presi 
dent's  till  twelve,  studying  the  plan  for  laying  out  the  ground 
around  the  President's  house.  .  .  . 

"Yesterday,  as  I  said,  I  dined  with  the  President.  The 
party  consisted  of  the  Secretaries  of  State,  War,  Treasury 
and  Navy;  the  Attorney  General,  Rodney;  the  Vice-President 
(Clinton);  Senator  Gillman,  (Count  Camomile),  General 
Mason,  Mr.  Law,  Mr.  Purviance  (the  bearer  of  the  treaty) 
and  myself.  .  .  On  Saturday  I  am  to  dine  with  Mr. 
Erskine.  To  Mr.  Gallatin's,  Smith's,  Madison's  I  have 
general  invitations,  none  of  which  I  have  been  able  to 
accept. 

"Mr.  Erskine  called  on  me  today,  and  had  a  long  chat 
about  the  treaty.  He  said  that  there  was  no  objection,  except 
ing  the  article  about  our  seamen,  to  prevent  its  ratification, 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON 
Drawn  by  B.  H.  Latrobe 


\a\ 

."a  .a  <&  * 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  15 

and  that  the  President  and  Secretary  of  State  have  treated 
him  as  politely  as  could  be  expected.  It  will  not  be  sent 
back." 

This  treaty  was  sent  back,  however,  and  the  controversy 
ended  in  the  war  of  1812  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  for  free  trade  and  sailors'  rights.  The  Mr. 
Erskine  referred  to  was  the  British  Minister. 

The  following  letters,  written  by  Mrs.  Latrobe  to  Juliana 
Miller  of  Philadelphia,  are  here  inserted,  the  object  being 
to  show  the  atmosphere  and  character  of  the  home  of  Mr. 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe. 

"Washington,  February   17,   1812. 

"You  will  be  surprised,  my  dearest  Juliana,  at  so  early  a 
reply  to  your  letter.  It  is  not  ten  minutes  since  I  received 
it,  but  it  is  a  gloomy  day  and  I  am  alone,  except  our  children, 
and  my  husband  is  away  on  business.  I  was  not  surprised 

at  M n's  death,  having  heard  from  my  brother  of  his 

illness.  Mrs.  M n  has  surely  a  clear  conscience;  having 

fulfilled  her  duty  to  two  most  detestable  husbands,  she  has 
the  more  merit. 

"As  to  the  gaiety  of  Washington,  you  are  quite  misin 
formed.  The  City  was  never  so  dull  as  this  winter.  The 
Drawing  Room  was  the  only  place  of  gay  resort,  except  the  two 
Balls  given  by  the  French  and  English  Ambassadors.  They 
have  each  given  two  to  which  we  have  been  invited;  and  went 
over  to  Serrurier's;  and  this  night  week  over  to  Foster's, 
where  we  saw  a  number  of  our  Philadelphia  friends  and  many 
from  New  York.  We  spent  a  charming  rational  evening 
for  those  who  did  not  dance.  There  was  a  room  provided 
with  all  the  new  publications  and  new  prints;  and  at  one 
time  there  were  as  many  as  twenty  persons  engaged  in  read 
ing.  There  were  six  or  seven  rooms  opened  for  the  evening, 


16  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

all  filled;  some  of  the  company  were  dancing,  others  reading, 
conversing,  etc.  In  short,  the  novelty  of  the  entertainment 
made  it  charming  and  far  superior  to  the  French  Minister's 
ball.  Foster  having  resided  here  formerly  as  Secretary  of 
Legation  to  Mr.  Merry,  can  accommodate  himself  to  our 
manners." 

(Perhaps  Mr.  Foster  viewed  our  manners  as  Oscar  Wilde 
did  when  he  made  one  of  his  characters,  an  American,  say, 
"We  have  no  ruins,  no  curiosities  in  America."  "No  ruins, 
no  curiosities!"  answered  his  host.  "You  have  your  Navy 
and  your  manners. ") 

"I  have  just  parted  with  a  very  pleasant  girl  who  has  been 
staying  ten  days  with  me — Sophia  May,  sister  to  our  friend 
the  Doctor.  We  have  given  three  evening  parties  within 
the  last  six  weeks.  One  was  of  forty  strangers  and  natives; 
and  on  Saturday  evening  we  had  a  most  agreeable  musical 
party  of  about  twenty-five.  Young  Dallas  and  R.  Bache 
were  among  them,  and  Derby  who  sings  so  delightfully. 
Mrs.  Otis  from  Boston,  who  has  two  daughters  who  sing  and 
play  to  admiration.  The  Hanson  family  also  very  much 
excel  in  their  performance.  Madame  Bonaparte  and  Miss 
Spear  and  young  Garaman,  Secretary  to  the  French  Minister, 
who  plays  with  wonderful  execution.  The  Hamilton  family 
were  all  here  and  a  number  of  beaux.  Count  Oilman  (my 
old  slave);  a  number  of  officers,  etc.  In  short,  I  do  not 
know  when  I  have  passed  so  rational  and  delightful  an  eve 
ning;  every  one  was  gay  and  pleased.  Harper  is  here  at 
present;  he  dines  with  us  on  Sunday  always,  and  also  Fulton, 
who  has  been  here  for  three  months  past;  he  took  Sophia 
home  in  his  carriage  last  evening.  On  Thursday  there  is  a 
grand  ball  at  the  Marine  Barracks  given  by  the  officers;  we 
are  invited.  We  were  last  week  at  a  dance  given  by  the  offi 
cers  of  the  Enter  prize  in  the  great  sail  loft  of  the  Navy  Yard; 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  17 

the  insufferable  smell  of  tar  gave  me  a  headache,  or  I  should 
have  spent  a  pleasant  evening. 

"We  are  about  to  remove  from  our  present  habitation  to  a 
larger  house  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  We  shall  be  very  near 
the  Hamiltons  and  not  far  from  the  President's;  and,  what  is 
equally  agreeable,  we  shall  be  very  near  the  market  and  can 
offer  you,  my  dear  Juliana,  a  much  better  accommodation 
than  when  you  were  last  here,  as  I  count  upon  seeing  you 
before  a  great  while.  Mrs.  Rush  is  to  live  in  Georgetown. 
I  know  nothing  of  them,  as  the  distance  is  great;  but  I 
rather  think  she  has  not  arrived,  as  I  saw  him  alone  at  the 
Drawing  Room. 

"We  have  had  several  smart  shocks  of  an  earthquake,  which 
to  me  are  awfully  alarming.  I  felt  two.  We  (Latrobe  and 
myself)  were  awoke  at  the  same  moment  with  the  rattling 
of  our  chamber  door  at  four  in  the  morning.  They  have 
providentially  done  no  damage.  I  have  no  idea  of  the  noise 
proceeding  from  an  earthquake,  but  thought  it  proceeded 
from  the  moving  about  in  the  next  house,  as  I  knew  our 
neighbor,  Mrs.  Ben  Sprigg,  lay  dead  at  the  time,  and  thought 
the  sitters-up  were  walking.  I  was  extremely  shocked  the 
next  day  to  learn  the  cause,  having  all  my  life  been  inexpres 
sibly  afraid  of  an  earthquake.  Mrs.  Crawford  is  well  I  believe; 
I  saw  Tom  at  Mr.  Foster's  ball.  She  spent  a  week  in  the 
City  some  time  ago,  and  I  have  not  since  seen  her.  I  think 

Claiborne's  marriage  will  be  a  shock  to  Mrs.  W— f, 

for  it  is  a  fact  that  two  months  ago  she  informed  me  she 
expected  him,  and  should  then  make  her  mind  up  whether 
or  not  to  receive  him  as  her  future  husband.  Henry  took 
with  him  the  two  monuments  for  his  former  wives." 

Notes  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe. 

"Went  over  to. "  A  phrase  justified  by  the  distances  then 
to  be  travelled  in  Washington. 


18  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"Sophia  May. "  This  lady  was  the  grand-aunt  of  Colonel 
Charles  May  of  Mexican  fame.  The  family  is  now  Bal- 
timorean.  Doctor  Frederick  May  attended  my  mother  when 
my  brother  Ben  was  born. 

"Young  Dallas. "  A  son  of  Alexander  J.  Dallas,  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury. 

" R.  Bache. "  Known  to  my  recollection  as  "Dick  Bache, " 
a  nephew  of  Dr.  Franklin,  and  celebrated  as  a  wit. 

"  The  Hamiltons. "  A  well  known  and  distinguished  family 
in  social  life,  from  Philadelphia. 

"Harper."  Robert  Goodloe  Harper,  then  in  the  Senate 
from  Maryland,  with  whom  I  studied  law  ten  years  later. 

"The  Enterprize."  Subsequently  celebrated  for  her  en 
gagement  with  and  capture  of  the  "Boxer"  in  1813. 

"Claiborne."  William  C.  Claiborne,  afterwards  Governor 
of  Louisiana.  The  designs  for  the  monuments  were  made 
by  my  father,  and  the  "Henry"  mentioned  was  my  half 
brother  by  my  father's  first  marriage  hi  England. 

It  was  probably  at  the  theatre  where  took  place  the  fight 
mentioned  in  one  of  these  letters,  that  Mr.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 
received  his  first  impression  of  a  theatrical  performance, 
described  in  one  of  his  addresses  hereinafter  referred  to. 

Addressed  to  Juliana  Miller,  185  Walnut  Street,  Phila 
delphia: 

"Washington,  February  10th. 

"My  dear  Juliana: 

"When  you  see  Mr.  Ewing  tell  him  we  are  more  than  ever 
pleased  with  Irving;  we  find  him  a  charming  acquaintance. 
.  .  .  On  Thursday  we  had  quite  a  collection  of  men  of 
talent  to  dine  with  us — Bayard,  Gardinier,  Harper,  Morier, 
Politica,  Irving,  Warden  and  Caldwell  (our  neighbor).  .  . 
You  know  Bayard  is  very  eloquent  and  Harper  first-rate. 
You  would  be  charmed  with  Morier,  he  drives  an  elegant 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  19 

equipage  and  is  an  unaffected,  amiable  man,  and  is  thought 
extremely  handsome;  visits  us  frequently.  .  .  On  Wed 
nesday  .they  all  appeared  at  the  Drawing  room,  we  also 
went  there.  I  made  a  dash  in  a  new  white  satin,  the  piece 
you  purchased  for  me  in  Philadelphia,  and  made  up  in  my 
usual  way,  with  a  long  train;  on  my  head  I  wore  the  new  lace 
handkerchief  you  sent,  thrown  carelessly  over  a  white  lilac 
that  was  put  on  the  left  side  of  my  head;  white  shoes,  and  I 
certainly  was  no  despicable  figure  as  Dubster  would  say  .  .  . 
Macon  has  moved  that  Latrobe,  as  surveyor  of  public  build 
ings,  be  called  upon  by  the  President  to  give  an  estimate 
of  what  it  would  cost  to  complete  the  whole  Capitol,  centre 
and  all.  I  did  not  forget  your  message  to  Mrs.  Madison. " 
Another  letter  to  the  same  party: 

"Washington,  June  27th. 

"Dear  good  little  Mrs.  Breck  was  here,  and  my  great 
friend,  Mrs.  Custis,  .  .  says  Mrs.  Lloyd  is  getting  well. 
It  was  my  intention  to  have  called  upon  her  this  morning, 
but  our  coachman  (David)  was  not  very  well,  and  I  did  not 
like  to  take  him  into  the  hot  sun. 

"My  husband  and  myself  are  quite  dull  at  the  departure 
of  Minister  Foster.  This  inevitable  war  has  indeed  pro 
duced  a  great  change.  The  French  Ambassador  is  the  only 
person  who  seems  in  good  spirits,  and  he  was  here  a  few 
evenings  ago  in  high  glee. 

"Foster  passed  our  house  yesterday  on  his  way  to  New 
York,  in  his  chariot  and  four.  His  Secretary,  Mr.  Baker, 
remains  here  a  month  longer.  .  .  We  were  at  a  party  at 
Walter  Jones',  the  District  Attorney 's,  a  few  nights  ago.  .  . 
We  dined  at  the  President's  on  Tuesday,  with  a  company 
of  thirty.  .  .  Charles  Goldsborough  and  his  two  daughters 
were  there.  They  are  charming  girls.  We  drank  tea  with 


20  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Mrs.  Eustis  last  evening.  .  .  I  have  just  received  a  long 
epistle  from  her  friend  De  Calve,  who  is  Ambassador  to 
Stockholm.  Mrs.  Madison  has  a  profusion  of  elegant  things. 
Among  these  affairs  a  cambric  dress  at  $130,  only  a  wrapper. 
We  are  near  neighbors  to  Secretary  Hamilton.  They  ask 
after  you  always  and  are  most  kind  and  good  people.  We 
are  frequently  together. " 

(This  was  Paul  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  during 
Madison's  first  administration.) 

"The  theatre  is  nearly  opposite  to  our  present  residence. 
They  have  full  houses.  Many  of  the  members  of  Congress, 
never  (I  suppose)  having  seen  a  play,  avail  themselves  of 
it.  There  was  a  terrible  riot  last  evening,  owing  to  the 
musicians  refusing  to  play  "Hail  Columbia."  One  of  them 
called  out  "Play  Foster's  March,"  upon  which  Sam  Ring- 
gold  threw  a  bisket  at  him,  and  another  gentleman,  Mr. 
Howell  of  the  Senate,  caught  him  by  the  collar  and  dragged 
him  over  the  railing.  A  terrible  battle  ensued  which  ended 
in  an  apology  from  Warner  and  an  order  to  start  up  "Hail 
Columbia,"  which  was  played  so  long  a  time  that  most 
probably  none  of  the  audience  will  ever  wish  to  hear  it 
again. " 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Latrobe  to  Mrs.  Juliana 
Miller,  dated  December  14, 1812 : 

"The  dullness  of  the  City  has,  however,  been  revived, 
in  some  degree,  by  a  splendid  entertainment  on  board  the 
frigate  Constellation.  We  were  invited  to  be  there  at  eleven 
to  pass  the  day.  The  vessel  lay  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
shore,  and  two  very  elegant  barges  of  twelve  oars  conveyed 
the  company.  This  was  the  only  unpleasant  part  of  the 
amusement;  for  the  day  proved  extremely  cold  and  a  high 
wind  was  blowing.  However,  we  all  arrived  safe  about 
twelve;  and  the  deck  was  closed  in  with  flags,  awnings,  etc., 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  21 

and  two  stoves  so  effectually  heated  it  as  to  make  the  tem 
perature  delightful.  The  dancing  soon  commenced  and 
continued  till  three,  when  the  boatswain's  whistle  called  us 
to  a  magnificent  dinner  below.  The  President  and  Mrs. 
Madison  were  seated  at  the  end  of  a  very  long  table;  but  I 
cannot  tell  you  all  the  company  and  can  only  say  that  the 
number  was  said  to  be  500.  After  dinner  the  dancing 
commenced  again  and  continued  till  about  six  in  the  evening, 
when  the  company  broke  up.  On  Tuesday  a  very  splendid 
ball  was  given  to  the  Navy  Officers — Hull,  Morris,  Stewart, 
etc.  My  husband  could  not  be  absent  as  he  holds  an  office 
in  the  Navy  Department,  and  I  was  not  sorry  we  went, 
as  it  is  not  likely  that  I  shall  ever  witness  such  another  scene. 
At  about  five  in  the  evening  my  husband  came  home  and 
informed  me  that  we  must  immediately  illuminate  our  house, 
as  the  account  of  a  victory  gained  by  Commodore  Decatur 
had  just  arrived.  My  house  in  ten  minutes  was  prepared 
for  lighting  up,  and  we  prepared  for  the  ball.  The  avenue 
was  very  brilliant  on  our  way  to  the  Capitol  Hill,  and  the 
company  assembling,  the  crowd  was  immense.  Mrs.  Mad 
ison  was  there,  but  not  the  President.  The  evening  went  on 
with  crowded  dancing  and  treading  as  usual  upon  the  toes 
and  trains  of  those  that  did  not  dance;  when  about  ten  o  'clock 
a  loud  huzza  announced  the  arrival  of  young  Archibald 
Hamilton,  who  had  that  moment  appeared  with  the  colors 
of  the  Macedonian.  He  was  borne  into  the  room  by  many 
officers.  Good  little  Mrs.  Hamilton,  his  mother,  stood  by 
me,  and  was  so  much  agitated  at  the  sight  of  her  son  that 
she  must  have  fallen,  had  I  not  stepped  forward  and  offered 
her  my  arm.  The  young  man  sprang  into  her  arms ;  his  sisters 
threw  their  arms  around  him,  and  the  scene  was  quite  affect 
ing.  The  colors  were  then  held  up  by  several  gentlemen  over 
the  heads  of  Hull,  Morris  and  Stewart,  and  'Hail  Columbia' 
played  and  there  were  huzzas  until  my  head  swayed. 


22  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"The  aforesaid  colors  were  then  laid  at  the  feet  of  Mrs. 
Madison.  Oh  temporal  Oh  mores!  This  was  rather  over 
doing  the  affair.  I  forgot  to  say  that  the  flag  of  the ' l  Guerriere ' ' 
was  festooned  on  one  side  of  the  room,  and  of  some  other 
vessel.  Now,  between  ourselves,  I  think  it  wrong  to  exult 
so  outrageously  over  our  enemies.  We  may  have  reason  to 
laugh  on  the  other  side  of  our  mouths  some  of  these  days; 
and,  as  the  English  are  so  much  stronger  than  we  are  with 
their  Navy,  there  are  ten  chances  to  one  that  we  are  beaten. 
Therefore  it  is  best  to  act  moderately  when  we  take  a  vessel; 
and  I  could  not  look  at  those  colors  with  pleasure,  the  taking 
of  which  had  made  so  many  widows  and  orphans.  In  the 
fullness  of  my  feelings,  I  exclaimed  to  a  gentleman  who 
stood  near  me,  'Good  heavens,  I  would  not  touch  that  color 
for  a  thousand  dollars ',  and  he  walked  quickly  away,  I  hearing 
the  gentleman  say,  however,  'Is  it  possible,  Mrs.  Latrobe?' 
I  looked  around,  and  it  was  a  good  staunch  Federalist  from 
Rhode  Island,  Mr.  Hunter,  so  that  I  shall  escape  hanging 
after  so  treasonable  a  speech.  I  came  home  with  a  raging 
headache  at  twelve,  and  went  the  next  evening  to  the  Draw 
ing  Room  by  way  of  curing  it.  I  must  not  fail  to  leave 
room  to  announce  the  marriage  of  Commodore  Tingey,  who 
was  united  to  Miss  Dulany,  on  Wednesday  evening,  after 
they  had  been  engaged  three  weeks.  She  is  twenty-eight 
and  he  61.  He  gives  a  ball  tomorrow  evening.  We  are 
invited,  but  are  engaged  at  Madame  Bonaparte's  and  on 
Thursday  at  the  French  Minister's.  Madame  Dashkoff 
is  here,  but  does  not  entertain;  she  is  a  charming  woman. 
My  time  is  fully  occupied,  not  a  moment  of  the  day  is  spent 
in  idleness.  I  have  undertaken  the  education  of  my  chil 
dren;  the  schools  here  are  miserable.  You  remember  John; 
he  used  to  go  to  school  in  the  neighborhood  to  an  Irishman, 
where  he  learned  the  brogue  so  completely  that  it  has  taken 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891 


23 


me  six  months  to  cure  him  of  it.  Julia  is  so  amiable,  and 
is  of  so  fine  a  capacity  that  she  is  easily  taught;  Ben  is  a 
little  refractory." 

From  John  H.  B.  Latrobe's  notes  we  have: 

"My  earliest  recollection  of  my  father  and  mother  dates 
from  the  Navy  Yard  House.  The  occasion  was  their  ap 
pearance  when  dressed  for  a  'Drawing  Room'  to  which  they 
were  going  at  the  President's.  I  remember  well  a  tall 
striking  looking  person,  six  feet  two  inches  high  in  fact,  in 
black,  wearing  knee  breeches  and  silk  stockings  with  silver 
buckles  in  his  shoes,  erect  as  a  soldier,  and,  without  being 
handsome  in  the  face,  of  distinguished  carriage.  My  mother 
was  as  distinguished  in  her  appearance  as  my  father  was 
in  his.  She  was  a  very  tall  woman,  five  feet  eight  inches, 
and  had  always  been  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  her  fig 
ure.  Her  face  was  in  no  ways  remarkable.  She  had  been 
a  leading  belle  in  Philadelphia,  and  had  the  air  of  a  woman 
of  fashion  of  that  day.  On  this  occasion,  she  was  dressed 
in  white  satin  with  a  long  train,  and  wore  a  turban  of 
spangled  muslin  with  a  gold  crescent,  fastening  a  heron's 
upright  plume.  After  an  interval  of  more  than  seventy 
odd  years,  I  can  still,  in  my  mind's  eye,  see  my  father 
and  mother  in  their  full  dress  on  this  particular  occasion. 
They  must  have  been  regarded  as  a  very  noble  looking 
pair;  and  so  they  were,  as  I  have  always  understood. 

"My  grandfather  was  the  partner  in  business  of  Robert 
Morris,  the  great  financier  of  the  American  Revolution. 
The  firm  had  bought  the  'Alliance'  frigate  from  the  United 
States  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  sent  her  to  India,  the 
first  vessel  that  made  the  voyage  from  this  country  to  that. 
The  India  goods  in  the  drawing  room  are  accounted  for 
by  my  grandfather's  mercantile  pursuits. 

"In  the  Navy  Yard  House  was  gathered  all  that  was 


24  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

agreeable  and  intellectual  in  Washington  life  in  those  days. 
Mr.  Madison  was  a  frequent  visitor,  Chief  Justice  Marshall, 
Mr.  Foster,  the  British  Minister,  who  was  a  connection 
of  my  father  by  marriage,  Mr.  Serrurier,  the  French  Min 
ister,  Madame  Dashkoff,,  the  wife  of  the  Russian  Min 
ister,  Robert  Fulton,  Dr.  Mitchell,  Gilbert  Stuart,  the 
painter,  and  many  others  whose  names  I  have  forgotten. 
My  half-sister,  afterwards  Mrs.  N.  J.  Roosevelt,  a  lively, 
bright  girl  just  coming  into  society,  added  to  the  social 
attractions  of  the  Navy  Yard  House.  There  was  a  very 
entertaining  Russian,  named  Svenin,  that  I  remember, 
mainly  because  he  drew  and  showed  me  pictures.  As  a 
precocious  boy,  I  was  in  and  out  of  the  parlor  at  all  times. 
Mr.  Fulton  I  recall  as  a  spare  man  with  a  head  of  dark 
shock  hair  and  large  eyes,  who  often  had  me  on  his  knees. 
Mr.  Madison  I  think  I  remember  at  this  early  day;  but  I 
saw  him  so  frequently  afterwards,  that  I  may  confound  one 
•date  with  another.  He  was  small  and  spare,  and  wore  his 
hair  in  powder.  All  his  published  likenesses  are  excellent. 
"In  addition  to  my  father's  other  accomplishments  he 
was  an  excellent  musician,  and  my  mother  was  celebrated 
for  her  voice,  cultivated,  when  she  was  a  girl,  under  the 
instruction  of  the  best  masters  in  Philadelphia  of  that  day. 
It  is  not  saying  a  great  deal  to  say  that  the  Navy  Yard 
House  was  an  attractive  one  for  the  society  of  Washington 
in  1808,  or  thereabouts.  My  mother's  friends,  too,  from 
Philadelphia  paid  her  visits;  and  I  remember  well  a  Miss 
Mollie  Hamilton,  a  leader  in  the  fashionable  world  of  that 
city,  who  with  others  came  to  the  races  and  impressed 
herself  on  my  mind  mainly  because  she  wore  a  jockey  cap, 
with  a  silver  effigy  of  a  horse  and  rider  at  full  speed  in  front 
the  object  of  many  a  childish  longing.  Another  visitor 
was  the  dearest  little  woman  in  the  whole  world,  my  moth- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  25 

er's  bosom  friend,  Mrs.  Juliana  Miller,  one  of  the  most 
diminutive  of  her  sex,  but  one  of  the  best  and  truest.  No 
biography  that  I  could  write  would  be  complete  without 
the  mention  of  her  name,  in  terms  of  the  most  exalted 
praise. 

"Both  my  father  and  mother  were  fond  of  society.  My 
father  was  a  man  of  great  conversational  powers  and  rare 
accomplishments.  My  mother  was  a  brilliant  talker  and 
a  wit.  On  one  occasion,  when  standing  with  the  French 

Secretary  of  Legation,  M.  de  C ,  behind  a  young  lady 

whose  very  low  dress  displayed  an  uncommon  amplitude 
of  neck,  the  Secretary  whispered  that  the  number  of  moles 
that  were  visible  formed  quite  a  constellation.  'True'  replied 
my  mother,  'and  it  is  the  great  Bare." 

In  considering  Mr.  Latrobe's  life  and  times,  we  shall  in 
some  detail  relate  his  connection  with  the  Railroad  and 
Telegraph  Companies.  The  other  branch  of  transporta 
tion — by  steamboat — might  be  considered  as  a  collateral 
relation  of  his,  as  Nicholas  J.  Roosevelt,  who,  in  1808, 
married  Lydia,  his  elder  sister,  built  the  first  steamer  that 
navigated  the  Western  waters,  and  with  his  wife  made  the 
first  voyage  by  steamboat  in  those  waters. 

Mr.  Latrobe  wrote  two  pamphlets  published  by  the 
Maryland  Historical  Society,  one  entitled  "First  Steam 
boat  Voyage  on  the  Western  Waters,"  the  second  "A  Lost 
Chapter  in  the  History  of  the  Steamboat."  "The  Lost 
Chapter"  was  first  written,  both,  however,  bearing  date 
1871.  It  is  a  record  of  his  employment  as  a  lawyer  in  1828, 
to  bring  suit,  on  the  Roosevelt  patents,  against  infringe 
ments  on  the  patent  for  the  "vertical  wheel"  which  was 
the  first  practical  and  successful  method  devised  of  apply 
ing  steam  to  steamboat  propulsion. 

Mr.  Latrobe  describes  his  interview  with  John  Devereux 


26  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

DeLacy,  a  genial  Irishman,  who  brought  out  from  his  pocket 
the  original  patent  to  Nicholas  J.  Roosevelt  "for  a  new 
and  useful  improvement  in  propelling  boats  by  steam," 
dated  December  1,  1814.  It  had  at  that  date— 1828— but 
a  few  months  to  run. 

Roosevelt  was  a  great-great-grand-uncle  of  former  Pres 
ident  Roosevelt.  I  have  a  letter  dated  December  14,  1915, 
from  the  latter,  as  follows: 

"Dear  Mr.  Semmes: 

I  think  that  Nicholas  Roosevelt  was  a  brother  of  my 
great-great-grandfather,  but  it  may  have  been  one  genera 
tion  back. 

I  wish  you  all  good  fortune  in  what  you  are  doing. 

Sincerely   yours, 
THEODORE  ROOSEVELT." 

Mr.  Latrobe  consulted  Mr.  William  Wirt,  and  Roger  B. 
Taney.  Both  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  Roosevelt  pat 
ent  was  good,  but  money  was  required.  Mr.  Latrobe  says 
in  his  pamphlet: 

"  In  a  word,  it  was  apparent  that  more  means  were  needed 
than  I,  as  a  young  lawyer  just  beginning  in  the  world, 
could  command.  DeLacy  had  a  one-quarter  interest  in 
the  patent.  DeLacy  was  a  source  of  trouble.  He  had 
procured  on  credit  from  Patterson,  the  then  fashionable 
tailor  on  South  Street,  a  complete  outfit,  apd  not  having 
the  money  to  pay  for  it,  Patterson,  who  was  unwilling  to 
wait  until  our  success  at  law  made  my  client's  fortune,  put 
him  in  jail,  in  spite  of  his  sounding  name  and  lofty  bearing. 
I  had  to  become  security  for  him  and  ultimately  to  pay  the 
debt.  I  tied  up  my  papers  and  placed  them  in  a  pigeon 
hole,  where,  with  a  single  exception,  they  have  remained 
undisturbed  for  forty  years." 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  27 

While  not  disposed  to  take  away  any  credit  Mr.  Fulton 
may  be  entitled  to,  it  would  appear  that  Nicholas  J.  Roose 
velt  was,  in  fact,  the  inventor  of  a  device  which  made  the 
use  of  steamboats  at  that  time  practical. 

Nicholas  J.  Roosevelt  had  built  a  steamboat  in  Pitts- 
burg  in  1811.  Mr.  Latrobe  writes  in  1871  his  recollection  of 
the  trip  of  this  boat,  which  was  the  first  boat  that  appeared 
upon  the  Western  waters.  He  says  that  hjs  recollections 
are  deepened  by  the  fact  that  his  father  removed  their 
family  to  Pittsburg  in  1813  where  he  was  superintending 
the  building  of  the  "Buffalo,"  the  fourth  of  the  steamboats 
launched  at  Pittsburg,  and  that  his  playmates  were  boys 
who  had  seen  the  "New  Orleans"  leave  the  town  for  the 
Mississippi,  "New  Orleans"  being  the  name  of  the  boat 
built  by  Nicholas  J.  Roosevelt  two  years  before.  Living 
stone  had  supplied  the  cafpital,  aiid  Roosevelt  had  superin 
tended  the  building  of  the  boat. 

Before  this  trip  cpuld  be  taken  it  was  necessary  to  in 
vestigate  the  currents  of  the  Mississippi  River.  In  1809 
Roosevelt  built  a  flat-boat  at  Pittsburg  and  floated  from 
Pittsburg  to  New  Orjeans  with  his  wife,  whom  he  had  re 
cently  married.  In  the  latter  part  of  September  1811  the 
"New  Orleans"  commenced  her  voyage,  which  changed 
the  relations  of  the  West.  The  speed  was  from  eight  to 
ten  miles  an  hour  and  on  the  second  day  after  leaving 
Pittsburg,  the  "New  Orleans"  rounded  to  opposite  Cin 
cinnati.  The  whole  town  turned  out.  The  people  said: 
"Your  boat  may  go  down  the  river,  but  as  to  its  going  up, 
the  idea  is  absurd." 

At  Louisville  Mr.  Roosevelt  invited  a  company  to  dinner 
upon  the  boat.  During  the  dinner  a  perceptible  motion 
was  felt,  and  the  company  rushed  upon  deck,  believing 
that  the  boat  was  adrift  and  would  drift  over  the  Falls  of 


28  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

the  Ohio.  Imagine  their  surprise  and  delight,  when  they 
found  that  the  boat  was  doing  the  impossible  thing — going 
up  stream.  While  waiting  for  the  high  water  to  pass  over 
the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  the  boat  returned  to  Cincinnati,  to 
the  great  astonishment  of  its  citizens.  When  the  depth  of 
water  passing  over  the  Falls  exceeded  by  five  inches  the 
draft  of  the  "New  Orleans,"  the  boat  navigated  them  in 
safety. 

As  the  boat  made  its  way  down  the  river,  Indians  attempt 
ed  to  approach  it,  but  fled  in  fear  as  it  came  nearer.  They 
looked  upon  it  as  a  monster  which  would  injure  them,  and 
in  this  they  were  not  far  from  the  truth,  as  the  development 
of  the  country  meant  their  departure.  A  fire  broke  out 
on  board  and  added  to  the  excitement  and  dangers  of  the 
trip.  A  series  of  earthquakes  visited  that  region.  At 
some  points  the  banks  fell  in  and  trees  were  engulfed. 
Some  of  the  people  were  terror  stricken  and  asked  to  be 
taken  aboard,  and  others  seemed  to  be  as  much  afraid  of 
the  boat  as  of  the  earthquakes.  There  was  no  choice.  It 
was  impossible  to  take  aboard  the  people  who  wished  to 
escape  from  the  dangers.  Quakes  continued;  the  crew  was 
oppressed  and  awed.  The  journey  was  made  in  silence; 
the  change  in  the  banks  caused  by  the  earthquakes  and 
disappearance  of  large  trees  confused  the  pilot,  and  he 
acknowledged  that  he  was  lost  on  the  river,  and  could  not 
tell  where  it  was  navigable.  Once  they  stopped  at  the 
foot  of  an  island,  and  during  the  night  a  continual  scratch 
ing  was  heard  and  several  hard  blows  were  delivered  against 
the  side  of  the  vessel,  causing  it  to  tremble.  The  cause 
was  discovered  in  the  morning;  the  island  had  disappeared. 
Mrs.  Roosevelt  described  the  voyage  as  one  of  "anxi 
ety  and  terror."  The  romance  and  its  terrors  ended  at 
Natchez. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  29 

The  "New  Orleans"  was  138  feet  long,  of  about  400  tons, 
and  cost  forty  thousand  dollars.  She  continued  in  service 
until  1 8 14,  when  she  was  wrecked  at  Baton  Rouge.  (Bishop, 
History  of  Manufactures,  vol.  11,  p.  173.) 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  term  "Stateroom,"  now 
used  to  designate  cabins  or  rooms  on  steamers,  had  its 
origin  in  the  custom  of  naming  the  rooms  or  cabins  of  the 
Mississippi  Steamboats  after  the  different  States  in  tjie 
Union.  A  survival  of  this  custom  still  obtains  in  the  West 
where  a  structure  on  the  hurricane  deck  of  a  sjteamer 
containing  officers'  cabins,  etc.,  is  called  Texas. 

The  material  from  which  this  pamphlet  was  obtained 
was  an  account  written  by  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  who  accom 
panied  her  husband.  Mrs.  Roosevelt  was  Lydia  Latrobe, 
a  half  sister  of  John  H.  B.  Latrobe.  I  write  this  because 
my  attention  has  been  called  to  a  description  of  the  voyage 
in  the  "Rambler,"  written  by  C.  J.  Latrobe  and  published 
in  1836.  Mr.  C.  J.  Latrobe  was  a  cousin  of  Mr.  John  H. 
B.  Latrobe.  He  made  his  first  visit  to  the  United  States 
in  1835.  While  in  Baltimore  he  stayed  at  Mr.  John  H.  B. 
Latrobe 's  house  and  the  latter  introduced  his  cousin  to 
Harper  and  Brothers,  who  published  Mr.  C.  J.  Latrobe  Js 
book.  All  the  information  he  had  of  the  first  trip  of  the 
steamer  on  the  Western  waters  of  the  country  was  obtained 
from  Mr.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe.  In  another  portion  of  the 
work  an  account  is  given  of  a  trip  in  1832  from  Natchez  to 
Cincinnati,  in  a  steamboat  called  the  "Lady  Franklin." 

Among  Mr.  Latrobe  Js  papers  is  the  following  letter  on 
the  subject  of  Nicholas  Roosevelt's  claim,  and  the  claim 
of  Robert  Fulton  to  be  the  inventor  of  the  steamboat: 

"The  extent  of  Fulton's  claim  to  the  invention  of  the 
steamboat  as  stated  by  himself. 

"In  a  paper  read  by  me  before  the  Maryland  Historical 


30  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Society  entitled  'A  lost  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  steam 
boat'  I  contended  that  to  Nicholas  J.  Roosevelt  was  due 
the  invention  of  the  vertical  wheels  over  the  sides  of  the 
vessel  adopted  by  Fulton,  to  which  his  success  was  owing. 
"In  the  above  paper  I  speak  of  Roosevelt  having  been 
associated  with  Fulton  in  the  introduction  of  steamboats 
on  the  Western  waters;  in  a  letter  from  my  father  to  Mr. 
Fulton  of  February  9th,  1809,  I  find  a  reference  to  the  pro 
posed  association,  thus: 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  however,  expects  aid  from  me  as  a  common  friend, 
and  has  transmitted  to  me  the  agreements  formerly  entered  into 
between  the  Chancellor,  Stevens,  and  himself  and  the  correspondence 
which  supports  his  contention,  even  to  the  proof  that  the  Water  Wheels 
System  was  proposed  by  him  to  the  Chancellor  and  rejected,  etc. 

I  wish  to  throw  all  this  to  one  side,  and  try  by  a  union  of  all  these 
interests  and  abilities  to  produce  a  monopoly  of  the  system,  from  which 
each  shall  derive  advantages,  undiminished  by  rivalry.  Let  us  meet 
and  converse. 

"On  the  same  day  my  father  writes  to  Mr.  Roosevelt: 

"Washington,  February  9,  1809. 
"My  dear  friend 

"The  enclosed  is  a  letter  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Fulton,  in  order  to  open 
the  negotiation  respecting  the  steamboat.  I  had  hardly  closed  it,  be 
fore  he,  as  if  sent  to  me,  walked  into  my  office.  I  gave  it  to  him,  and 
the  following  is  the  substance  of  what  passed  after  he  read  it:  "I 
know  nothing  of  Mr.  Roosevelt 's  claim  or  Mr.  Stevens'  or  the  Chan 
cellor 's.  I  have  indeed  heard  of  an  old  agreement  between  them, 
but  that  can  only  bind  the  parties  and  not  affect  me.  I  HAVE  NO 
PRETENSIONS  TO  BE  THE  FIRST  INVENTOR  OF  THE  STEAM  BOAT. 
Hundreds  have  tried  it  and  failed.  Neither  do  I  pretend  to  an  ex 
clusive  right  to  navigate  steamboats,  except  in  New  York.  Perhaps 
that  may  be  disputed,  I  am  told ;  but  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  event,  and 
in  the  mean  time  I  shall  go  on.  Mr.  Stevens  may  build  a  dozen  boats 
if  he  pleases.  Anybody  else  may  do  so ;  but  I  shall  prevent  their 
adopting  my  principles.  That  to  which  I  claim  an  exclusive  right 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  31 

is:  The  so  proportioning  the  boat  to  the  power  of  the  engine  and 
the  velocity  with  which  the  wheels  and  the  boat,  or  both  move, 
with  the  maximum  velocity  attainable  by  the  power,  and  the  con 
struction  of  the  whole  machine."  He  then  explained  his  principles 
at  large,  which  I  need  not  repeat. 

"In  the  paper  above  referred  to  I  attempted  to  prove 
that  it  was  to  Roosevelt  that  Fulton  was  indebted  for  the 
element  of  the  vertical  wheels,  that  made  the  experiment, 
that  had,  from  the  showing  of  Golden,  his  biographer,  been 
a  failure  in  Paris,  a  success  in  America,  owing  to  the  in 
formation  that  the  Chancellor  gave  him  of  [Roosevelt's 
rejected  plan.  I  think  that  this  may  now  be  regarded  as 
fully  established!.  Not  only  does  Fulton  make  no  claim  to 
the  vertical  wheels,  but  he  puts  his  claim  on  a  combination 
of  proportions  which,  as  we  now  understand  the  law,  would 
not  be  patentable. 

"And  yet,  notwithstanding,  as  I  have  already  fully  ad 
mitted,  this  does  not  detract  from  the  merit  that  the  world 
has  awarded  to  Fulton  of  being  the  first  who  made  the  great 
idea  a  practical  success;  although  few  would  now  adopt 
such  shapes  as  he  matured  in  1809. 

"In  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  there  is  a  marble  statue 
of  Fulton,  seated — in  the  dress  of  an  artizan,  in  his  shirt 
sleeves — pondering  over  a  miniature  of  a  boat  that  he  holds 
in  his  left  hand.  The  statute  in  Washington  might  have 
illustrated  George  Stephenson, — but  it  misrepresents  Robert 
Fulton.  Whatever  may  b,e  its  merit  as  a  work  of  art,  in 
one  respect  it  does  him  injustice.  He  was  not  a  mechanic, 
working  in  his  shirt  sleeves.  He  belonged  in  social  life  to 
the  rank  of  what  are  called  gentlemen.  He  was  a  skillful 
miniature  painter,  the  associate  hi  England  of  persons  of 
rank,  and  his  wife  was  the  sister  of  Chancellor  Livingston, 
our  minister  to  France  in  1797.  I  remember  him,  when  I 


32  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

was  a  boy,  as  a  visitor  to  my  father 's  house  in  Washington, 
and  I  fix  the  date  approximately  by  one  of  my  father's 
letters,  in  which  the  fact  is  mentioned,  incidentally,  that  the 
British  fleet  was  then  lying  before  Alexandria,  a  letter  in 
which  reference  is  made  to  Fulton's  torpedoes,  that  he 
was  trying  to  induce  the  Government  to  adopt,  and  a  portion 
of  whose  appurtenances  I  most  distinctly  recollect  seeing 
somewhere. " 

JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE, 

May  14,  1888. 

Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  had  made  a  contract  in  1811  with 
the  city  of  New  Orleans  for  a  water  supply.  Under  the 
terms  of  this  contract  he  was  to  have  the  right  to  supply 
water  for  twenty  years  from  May  1813,  at  which  time  it 
was  presumed  the  work  would  be  finished,  but  the  war  of 
1812  interfered  with  and  destroyed  all  chance  of  complet 
ing  the  work  at  that  date.  The  machinery  was  built  in 
Washington.  It  was  loaded  and  shipped  to  New  Orleans. 
The  vessel  on  board  of  which  it  had  been  shipped  was  cap 
tured  by  the  British,  which  resulted  in  a  great  loss  to  those 
engaged  in  the  enterprise.  It  was  about  this  time  that  the 
Capitol  was  partially  burned  by  the  British. 

Mr.  Latrobe  removed  to  Pittsburg  in  1812,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  constructing  the  machinery  which  was  to  be  used 
in  the  New  Orleans  water  works  and  which  was  to  be  shipped 
by  water  to  that  place.  In  Pittsburg  Mr.  Latrobe  also 
constructed  a  steamer  to  be  used  upon  the  Mississippi  River. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  works,  at  which  Mr.  La 
trobe  built  his  machinery  and  his  steamboat,  are  now  occu 
pied  as  the  depot  of  the  Pittsburg  and  Connellsville  Rail 
road,  a  Railroad  built  under  the  supervision  of  his  son 
Benjamin  as  Engineer.  The  steamboat  built  by  Mr.  La 
trobe  was  the  fourth  one  to  be  used  on  the  waters  of  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  33 

Mississippi.  Chancellor  Livingston  and  Nicholas  J.  Roose 
velt  were  interested  in  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  steamboat  enterprise  being  unsuccessful,  Mr.  Latrobe 
was  very  much  harassed  financially  and  otherwise  and,  for 
the  first  time  in  his  very  active  life,  appears  to  have  become 
keenly  discouraged. 

In  1815,  however,  he  was  reappointed  the  surveyor  of 
Public  Buildings  of  the  United  States.  He  returned  to 
Washington  to  superintend  the  reconstruction  or  comple 
tion  of  the  Capitol,  and  he  lived  in  Washington  until  1817. 
His  eldest  son,  Henry,  who  was  superintending  the  works  at 
New  Orleans,  died  in  1817  of  yellow  fever.  Mr.  Latrobe's 
interests  required  him  to  visit  New  Orleans  from  time  to 
time.  In  1817  or  1818  he  moved  to  Baltimore  with  his 
family.  He  designed  the  "Exchange"  and  the  "Cathe 
dral,"  which  latter  was  under  roof  in  1818.  General  Robert 
Goodloe  Harper  was  a  great  friend  of  his,  and  during  a  part 
of  this  tune  he  stayed  with  him  at  his  house.  His  interests 
in  New  Orleans  required  him  to  move  to  New  Orleans,  so 
that  in  1820  he  took  up  his  residence  there  with  his  family. 
The  elder  Latrobe  died  in  September  of  yellow  fever  at 
New  Orleans. 

We  take  up  now  Mr.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe's  life  in  the  first 
period  from  his  birth  to  December  1821,  when  he  resigned 
from  West  Point  to  join  his  family  in  Baltimore. 

He  lived  in  Philadelphia  from  his  birth  to  1807;  in  Wash 
ington  until  1813;  in  Pittsburgh  until  1815;  and  again  in 
Washington  until  1817;  in  Baltimore  until  1818;  and  in 
West  Point  from  1818  until  1821. 

Sometime  after  this  biography  was  begun,  in  an  old 
trunk  belonging  to  his  son  Osmun  was  found  a  manuscript 
written  by  Mr.  Latrobe,  giving  to  his  children  a  history 
of  his  life.  This  is  incomplete,  but  includes  details  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  unavailable. 


CHAPTER  II 

FROM  1803  to  1818 — DATE  OF  MR.  LATROBE'S  ENTERING 
WEST  POINT — LIFE  IN  WASHINGTON — FIRST  THEATRICAL 
EXPERIENCE — EARLY  ASSOCIATES — MADAME  BONAPARTE 
— NAVAL  BALL — FAMILY  LEFT  WASHINGTON  1812 — TRIP 
TO  WHEELING  BY  CARRIAGE — LIFE  IN  PITTSBURGH 
BUILDING  STEAMBOATS — RETURN  TO  WASHINGTON  1815 — 
GEORGETOWN  COLLEGE — LEFT  WASHINGTON  FOR  BALTI 
MORE  1817 — DEATH  OF  BENJAMIN  H.  LATROBE  IN  NEW 
ORLEANS  1820 

The  only  record  of  this  period  consists  of  notes  made 
by  Mr.  Latrobe  late  in  life. 

His  father's  occupation  required  him  to  move  from 
place  to  place.  He  took  up  his  abode  in  Washington  in 
1807,  and  the  house  which  he  first  occupied  was  known  as 
the  "Navy  House."  It  was  not  very  far  from  the  Navy 
Yard.  Subsequently,  in  1811,  he  moved  to  a  house  on  the 
north  side  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  about  half  way  between 
the  Capitol  and  the  [President's  house  and,  according  to 
a  letter  of  Mrs.  Latrobe 's,  nearly  opposite  the  house  occu 
pied  by  Paul  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

The  family,  as  shown  by  the  letters  of  Mr.  Latrobe, 
took  an  active  part  in  society.  Mr.  Jefferson,  the  leading 
members  of  the  Cabinet,  and,  later,  Mr.  Madison,  were  very 
intimate  friends  of  theirs.  They  seem  to  have  lived  in 
some  style,  as  they  speak  of  their  coach  and  coachman. 

Mr.  Latrobe  writes,  speaking  of  the  Navy  House: 

"Here  happened  the  first  great  event  of  my  literary  life, 
the  reading  of  'Robinson  Crusoe.' 

34 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  35 

"Among  other  visitors  at  the  house,  I  recall,  were  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Barlow.*  On  the  eve  of  their  departure  they  went 
with  my  father  and  mother  to  Bladensburg,  then  a  favorite 
afternoon  drive  from  the  City,  where  there  was  a  spa  or 
mineral  spring  which  was  the  attraction  of  the  place.  It 
bubbled  from  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Potomac,  a  very 
small  spring  shaded  by  some  fine  old  trees.  It  was  here 
that  I  first  heard  the  oft  quoted  lines,  repeated  by  my 
mother  apropos  of  the  occasion: 

By  the  side  of  a  murmuring  stream, 

An  elderly  gentleman  sat, 
On  the  top  of  his  head  was  his  wig, 

And  on  the  top  of  his  wig  was  his  hat,  etc. 

"Along  with  these  lines,  I  recall  most  distinctly  the  slen 
der,  gray  haired,  elderly  gentleman  and  his  wife,  a  soft 
spoken  low  voiced  lady,  remarkably  thin  almost  to  ema 
ciation,  of  great  refinement. 

"I  remember  being  with  my  father  in  Cooper's  Book 
Store  one  day,  when  we  met  Francis,  the  actor,  and,  I  think, 
the  elder  Jefferson;  and  my  father  mentioning  a  promise 
he  had  made  to  take  me  to  the  theatre,  they  suggested 
that  we  should  go  to  see  *  She  Stoops  to  Conquer, '  with  the 
after-piece  of  the  'Forest  of  Bonday'  or  'the  Dog  of  Mon- 
targis. ' 

"These  were  my  first  theatrical  experiences.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  night  of  joy.  Rachel  has  given  me  less 
pleasure  than  did  Warren  in  the  character  of  Old  Hard- 
castle,  Barrett  as  young  Marlowe,  and  Jefferson  as  Tony 

"Joel  Barlow  was  prominent  in  the  political  world  and  was  appointed  Minister 
of  the  United  States  to  France,  1811-12.  Known  also  as  one  of  the  "Hartford 
wits,"  he  was  the  author  of  "The  Columbiad"  and  other  books.  Theodore 
Roosevelt  says  of  the  "Columbiad" — 

"I  have  one  of  the  copies  of  the  original  edition.  I  wouldn't  have  it  out  of  my 
library  for  any  consideration,  unless  I  were  required  to  read  it." 


36  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Lumpkin  oh  the  occasion.  My  father  took  us  to  the  play 
once  more  that  season,  when  Barrett  played  Bertram  in 
'The  Castle  of  St.  Aldobrand.'  I  recall  nothing  of  the 
tragedy,  but  the  dog  of  Montargis,  who  rang  the  bell  as 
he  sprang  at  the  sausage  on  the  bell  rope,  I  never  can  for 
get. 

"Two  of  my  father's  visitors  at  the  Navy  Yard  House 
were  the  Colonel  of  the  Marine  Corps  and  Commodore 
Tingey,  the  Commandant  of  the  Yard.  Colonel  Wharton 
was  a  grand  looking  man,  tall,  stately  and  dignified  in  the 
extreme.  I  see  him  now  in  a  black  frock  coat,  buttoned 
to  the  chin,  which  was  held  up  by  a  stiff  leather  stock. 
He  wore  powder  after  a  fashion  that  had  not  quite  gone 
out  of  use.  Commodore  Tingey  looked  the  reverse  of 
Colonel  Wharton.  He  was  what,  when  I  read  Peregrine 
Pickle  at  a  much  later  date,  I  supposed  Commodore 
Trunnion  must  have  been,  a  rotund  man,  with  a  quarter 
deck  roll  in  his  walk,  a  round  red  face,  and  a  speaking 
trumpet  voice.  His  laughing  good  humor  and  gray  eyes 
shine  through  a  long  vista  of  memory.  A  jolly  sea  dog, 
but  a  refined  gentleman,  Commodore  Tingey." 

In  one  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  lectures,  he  speaks  of  the  im 
pression  he  received  on  seeing  the  performance  of  "Aladdin 
and  His  Lamp,"  and  also  refers  to  his  admiration  for  the 
room  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  This  building 
was  under  the  charge  of  his  father,  and  the  probabilities 
are  he  visited  the  Capitol  from  time  to  time. 

He  gives  rather  a  graphic  account  of  "Mammy  Kitty," 
who  was  his  nurse: 

"  Mammy  Kitty,  my  nurse,  was  a  most  remarkable  woman, 
a  small,  red-haired,  freckled  face,  pale  eyed  and  very  ro 
mantic  person  of  Scotch  descent,  with  wonderful  memory 
for  old  Scotch  ballads.  Better  educated  than  most  women 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  37 

who  took  service  in  those  days  and  from  respectable  con 
nections,  and  of  the  most  fierce  and  ungovernable  temper. 
Her  temper  was  only  equalled  by  the  most  devoted  affection 
to  my  family.  She  would  not  be  turned  away.  Through 
good  times  and  bad  times  she  clung  to  our  fortunes,  and 
died  a  terrible  death  in  our  house,  long  years  after.  .  .  ,  . 
My  character  even  at  this  day  has  marked  impressions  upon 
it  by  Mammy  Kitty.  She  knew  Chevy  Chase  by  heart 
and  a  ballad  about  a  lover  who  hid  himself  upon  the  bank 
of  a  narrow  stream  to  escape  from  foes  who  leaped  their 
horses  from  bank  to  bank  over  his  hiding  place.  She  would 
go  singing  about  the  house  scraps  of  songs  relating  to  Scot 
land.  'Roy's  Wife  of  Aldevellock, '  I  can  repeat  in  part 
even  now,  as  I  learned  it  from  Kitty.  I  have  a  notion  that 
there  was  chronic  disposition  to  fall  in  love  that  accom 
panied  her  romantic  turn It  is  proper  to  say  that 

absolute  fidelity  never  had  such  an  illustration  as  her  life 
afforded;  the  nearest  parallel  that  I  can  recall  is  that  of 
Caleb  Baldwin  in  the  'Bride  of  Lammermoor. '  And  there 
were  times  in  the  history  of  the  family,  while  Mammy  Kitty 
lived,  when  stringent  circumstances  made  her  services  next 
to  indispensable. 

"The  envy  of  the  'Academy'  in  those  days  wa£  a  boy 
who  left  us  to  enter  the  Navy  as  a  midshipman,  and  whose 
ship,  the  'John  Adams,'  the  whole  school  got  leave  to 
'go  out'  to  see  as  she  left  the  Navy  Yard,  under  topsails 
and  jib.  Trifles  impress  themselves  on  the  memory;  and  at 
this  day  I  can  recall  the  set  of  the  jib.  Charley  Macaulay 
we  called  the  lad,  who  afterwards  became  distinguished 
as  Commodore  Macaulay. 

"Adjoining  the  Navy  Yard  House  was  the  house  occu 
pied  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hunter,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman, 
who  was,  if  I  remember  aright,  chaplain  to  the  Marine 


38  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Corps.  The  two  families  were  intimate,  and  my  playmates 
and  schoolfellows  were  Moses  and  David  Hunter.  Moses 
was  a  much  bigger  boy  than  I  was,  and  one  day  when  pass 
ing  by  some  brick  ponds  on  our  way  home  from  school, 
he  put  on  my  shoulders  lumps  of  soft  clay,  saying  that  he 
made  a  general  of  me.  His  brother,  David,  was  afterwards 
my  class-mate  at  West  Point,  on  his  way  to  become  the 
well-known  General  of  the  Union  Army  in  the  late  war, 
(he  commanded  the  main  column  of  McDowell's  army  in 
the  Manassas  campaign  and  participated  in  the  Battle  of 
Bull  Run),  while  I,  notwithstanding  my  clay  epaulets, 
never  got  higher  than  a  Cadet. 

"I  remember  Commodore  David  Porter,  the  father  of  the 
present*  (1887)  Admiral,  before  he  became  celebrated  in. 
the  War  of  1812,  by  reason  of  his  fight  with  two  English 
vessels.  He  was  a  spare  built  man  and  used  to  pet  me. 
He  was  an  admirer  of  my  eldest  sister  before  she  became 
Mrs.  Roosevelt.  Then  there  was  Lieutenant  Brooks, 
afterwards  killed  in  the  battle  on  Lake  Erie,  one  of  the 
handsomest  men  in  the  Navy.  The  sash  worn  by  him 
when  he  died  on  the  deck  of  the  'Lawrence'  was  shown  to 
me  by  his  father,  Governor  Brooks  of  Massachusetts,  when, 
with  other  cadets,  I  dined  at  his  house  at  Medford  on  the 
march  of  the  cadets  to  Boston  in  1821. 

"But  to  return  to  my  autobiography.  Among  my  play 
mates,  while  we  lived  on  the  Avenue,  I  remember  the  chil 
dren  of  Albert  Gallatin,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1801- 
1813,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  our  family.  He  had  the 
reputation  of  being  one  of  the  greatest  financiers  of  the  age. 
He  lived  not  far  from  the  Capitol,  in  an  odd-looking  house 
with  an  immense  garret  in  which  the  Gallatin  boys  and  my- 

*His  ship,  the  Essex,  was  captured.    His  report  on  this  event  was  "We  have  been 
unfortunate,  but  not  disgraced." 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  39 

self  were  wont  to  harness  chairs  as  horses  and  drive  four 
in  hand,  without  fear  of  the  fate  of  Phaeton.  I  think  that 
I  can  recall  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Gallatin  at  this  time, 
but  it  is  very  possible  that,  having  seen  him  afterwards 
when  I  was  hi  active  life,  I  may  confound  the  dates.  His 
daughter,  Mrs.  Stevens,  was  the  first  sweetheart  of  the  eight 
or  ten  year  old  charioteer  of  the  garret.  My  acquaintance 
with  her  brothers*  was  renewed  when  we  became  men. 

"Going  to  dancing  school  is  sometimes  an  epoch  in  a 
boy's  life.  In  mine  this  epoch  is  only  remarkable  in  con 
nection  with  my  first  teacher,  one  of  whose  scholars,  at 
an  earlier  date,  had  been  no  less  a  person  than  Marie  An 
toinette.  His  name  was  Duport.  I  can  recall  his  bald  head, 
the  ring  of  gray  hair  around  the  back  of  his  head  from  ear 
to  ear,  his  portly  body,  and  well  shaped  limbs  indued  in 
small  clothes,  and  his  air  in  handling  his  'kit'  or  little 
violin.  I  do  not  think  that  I  could  have  made  much  prog 
ress  with  Duport,  for  I  was  soon  sent  to  a  Mr.  Generes 
where  I  probably  did  no  better,  and  I  only  mention  his 
name  because  I  was  reminded  of  my  dancing  school  days 
by  seeing  it  on  the  door  of  a  merchant's  counting  house  in 
New  Orleans,  when  I  was  once  engaged  in  the  trial  of  a 
cause  in  that  city.  The  merchant,  I  was  told,  if  I  recollect 
rightly,  was  of  the  family  of  my  old  instructor. 

"Duport  kept  a  perfumer's  shop  in  Georgetown,  and  on 
one  occasion  my  mother  went  there  to  obtain  a  particular 
pomatum — say  'pomade  de  la  rose.'  Opening  one  pot  Duport 
smelled  it,  when,  pronouncing  it  to  be  '  pomade  de  la  reine/ 
he  opened  a  number  of  pots  in  succession  with  the  same  result. 
He  then  turned  to  my  mother,  saying  'Ah!  Madame,  que 
je  suis  au  desespoir,  je  n'ai  que  la  pomade  de  la  reine  dans 
la  boutique. '  My  mother  laughed,  and  told  him  that  it  was 

*  James  Gallatin  whose  diary  was  published  by  Scribner,  1916,  was  one  of  them. 


40  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

no  wonder  that  he  thought  so,  for  he  had  carried  from  the 
first  pot  a  lump  of  its  contents  on  his  nose  when  he  had 
opened  the  others.  Poor  Duport!  although  he  did  not  teach 
me  the  'minuet  de  la  cour,'  it  was  something  even  to  have 
seen  the  dancing  master  of  Marie  Antoinette. 

"Paul  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  1809- 13,  was  one 
of  my  father's  friends,  that  I  often  saw  at  the  Avenue  house. 
I  remember  him  most  distinctly — a  tall,  straight,  well-made 
man,  who  wore  powder,  and  dressed  in  a  blue  coat  and  metal 
buttons.  His  daughter  Susan  was  a  friend  of  my  sister 
Julia  and  was  my  second  sweetheart,  and  'reigned  supreme 
until,  when  eleven  years  old,  I  fell  desperately  in  love  with 
Ann  Van  Ness,  the  daughter  of  a  leading  man  in  Washington, 
a  friend  of  my  father,  our  near  neighbor  at  the  Avenue  house. 
She  afterwards  married  Arthur  Middleton,  I  believe." 

John  Peter  Van  Ness  of  Kinderhook,  New  York,  was  a 
member  of  Congress  in  1801.  He  lost  his  seat  in  1803,  by 
accepting  the  post  of  a  major  of  the  militia  of  the  District 
of  Columbia.  He  married  Miss  Marcia  Burns  in  1812,  and 
from  her  acquired  a  fortune.  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  built 
him  a  splendid  house,  and  he  and  his  beautiful  wife  enter 
tained  in  Washington  lavishly  for  many  years. 

Writing  of  their  life  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  the  notes 
continue: 

"It  must  have  been  sometime  in  1811  that  we  moved 
from  the  Navy  Yard  House  to  a  large  three-story  house  on 
the  north  side  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  about  half  way 
between  the  Capitol  and  the  President's  house.  There  was 
the  same  collection  of  pleasant  people  around  my  father  and 
mother  at  the  Avenue  house  that  I  have  spoken  of,  and  in 
addition  was  Madame  Bonaparte,  the  beautiful  wife  of 
Jerome  Bonaparte,  whose  name,  in  connection  with  the 
imperial  family,  is  historical. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  41 

"  I  remember  her  well — she  had,  almost  to  her  death,  the 
wit  and  vivacity  of  her  early  days.  Intimate  in  my  father's 
family,  she  was  unquestionably  one  of  the  most  attractive 
of  my  mother's  visitors.  Ten  or  twelve  years  afterwards, 
and  when  I  was  a  member  of  the  bar,  I  met  her  in  society  in 
Baltimore,  still  beautiful  and  attractive,  and  still  later  by  some 
twenty  years  or  more,  an  old  acquaintanpe  was  revived, 
when  all  that  remained  of  her  beauty  was  the  sparkle  of  her 
dark  eyes,  when  no  one  could  have  recognized  in  the  clumsy 
old  woman,  in  a  well-worn  bonnet  and  faded  cloak,  the  beau 
tiful  and  attractive  ornament  of  society  in  the  days  of  Mrs. 
Madison.  But  Madame  Bonaparte,  as  she  liked  to  be  called, 
was  still  as  bright  and  clever  as  ever. 

"She  had  been  much  in  Europe  in  the  intervals,  and  was 
full  of  anecdotes  of  the  distinguished  persons  whom  she  had 
met  when  abroad,  and,  being  one  of  the  best  raconteurs  I 
ever  listened  to,  was  always  glad  to  have  an  audience  listen 
to  her.  She  boarded  not  far  from  our  house  on  St.  Paul 
Street,  and  my  wife  often  invited  her  to  meet  strangers  who 
passed  an  evening  with  us.  And  so,  with  long  intervals, 
my  acquaintance  with  Madame  Bonaparte  continued,  I  may 
say,  from  my  infancy  to  old  age,  and  closed  only  when  I,  as 
one  of  her  pall-bearers,  followed  her  to  her  grave. " 

Madame  Bonaparte,  whose  name,  Mr.  Latrobe  writes,  is 
historical,  is  one  of  the  important  personages  of  his  times. 

A  short  sketch  of  her  must  form  a  part  of  the  history  of 
this  period. 

She  was  the  daughter  of  William  Patterson,  a  prominent 
and  wealthy  merchant  of  Baltimore.  Mr.  Latrobe  speaks 
of  him  as  one  of  the  leading  spirits  who  were  interested  in 
promoting  the  building  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  at  the  time  of 
his  death  hi  1835.  Mr.  Latrobe  drew  up  the  resolution  of 


42  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

the  Board,  passed  in  commemoration  of  him.  His  will, 
recorded  in  Baltimore,  is  a  remarkable  document.  He  rec 
ognized,  as  all  of  us  do,  that  papers  and  records  kept  by 
private  institutions,  disappear  in  a  few  years,  and  he  adopted 
a  novel  way  of  perpetuating  the  history  of  his  family,  through 
the  medium  of  his  will.  He  starts  out  with  the  declaration 
that  it  would  be  interesting  to  his  family  to  have  a  record. 

He  then  gives  this  record  (about  fourteen  thousand  words). 
It  is  the  only  family  record  which  is  placed  in  a  position  to 
be  cared  for  by  the  public,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  it 
will  last  as  long  as  the  City  of  Baltimore  exists. 

Mr.  Patterson  was  born  in  Ireland.  His  parents  were 
Scotch-English  descent. 

When  Jerome  Bonaparte  visited  Baltimore  with  the 
French  fleet,  Elizabeth  Patterson  was  eighteen  years  of 
age,  and  a  beautiful  girl.  The  glamor  of  his  position 
and  the  glitter  of  rank  blinded  her,  and  she  accepted  his 
attention.  Her  father  was  not  carried  away  by  it.  He 
refused  his  consent,  and  did  everything  he  could  to  prevent 
the  match.  The  daughter  insisted,  and  she  was  married  to 
Jerome  Bonaparte  in  December  1803  by  Bishop  John  Carroll, 
a  cousin  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton. 

Their  wedded  life  was  a  short  one.  After  a  bridal  trip 
they  sailed  for  Europe.  Napoleon  Bonaparte  refused  to 
permit  her  to  land  in  France,  so  they  went  to  Portugal. 
Napoleon  endeavored  to  have  the  Pope  issue  a  bull  annul 
ling  the  marriage.*  Upon  the  Pope's  refusal  to  do  so,  Na- 

*  James  Gallatin  refers  to  this  in  his  diary.    He  says: 

"In  order  to  compel  him  to  accede  to  his  wishes,  Napoleon  made  the  Pope  a 
prisoner." 

Gallatin  says  that  he  visited  Fontainebleau: 

"I  was  shown  an  apartment  that  Napoleon  gave  to  the  Pope  when  he  made 
him  a  prisoner.  The  Pope  would  not  allow  a  divorce  between  King  Jerome  and 
his  wife,  and  that  was  one  of  the  reasons  he  brought  him  to  Fontainebleau,  as  he 
himself  wished  to  divorce  Josephine." 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  43 

poleon  had  a  decree  passed  by  the  French  Senate,  more  sub 
servient  than  the  Pope,  declaring  the  marriage  void.  Jerome 
protested  weakly,  then  yielded,  abandoned  his  wife,  mar 
ried  the  Princess  of  Wiirtemberg,  and  was  made  King  of 
Westphalia. 

Madame  Bonaparte  landed  at  Lisbon;  but  subsequently 
she  went  to  England,  where  her  son  Jerome  was  born  in  1805. 
She  made  several  efforts  to  obtain  recognition  from  Napo 
leon  Bonaparte,  without  success.  The  conduct  of  her  hus 
band  naturally  aroused  her  contempt.  She  always  admired 
Napoleon,  however,  and  worshipped  at  the  shrine  of  royalty. 
She  passed  her  time  between  the  United  States  and  Europe. 
She  was  at  Geneva  with  her  son  attending  to  his  education; 
and  came  back  to  the  United  States  when  he  went  to 
Harvard.  She  negotiated  from  time  to  time  for  his  marriage 
to  a  Princess  of  the  house  of  Bonaparte,  and  saved  up  money 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  foreign  match  for  him.  Position, 
rank  and  money  were  her  gods.* 

She  wrote  caustic  sentences,  and  of  her  sister-in-law,  Mrs. 


*Extracts  from  the  diary  of  James  Gallatin,  published  by  Scribner's,  1915.  He 
writes  of  Madame  Bonaparte,  who  visits  his  father's  house  in  Paris,  February  18, 
1815,  and  quotes  her  as  saying: 

"Had  I  but  waited,  with  my  beauty  and  wit  I  could  have  married  an  English 
Duke,  instead  of  which  I  married  a  Corsican  blackguard." 

Gallatin  writes  that  there  was  quite  a  scandal  about  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
and  the  sister-in-law  of  Madame  Bonaparte,  Mrs.  Robert  Patterson.  On  page 
165  he  says: 

"There  is  a  great  scandal  about  her  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  He  follows 
her  everywhere.  In  fact,  'tis  an  open  secret  that  she  is  his  mistress." 

At  this  date — 1820 — Mrs.  Patterson  was  a  widow. 

Again  he  writes,  January  18,  1822: 

"Mrs.  Robert  Patterson  dined  with  us  on  Thursday  (yesterday).  She  is 
really  beautiful,  and  has  a  wonderful  charm  of  manner.  Her  one  topic  of  con 
versation  is  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  They  say  he  allows  her  one  hundred  thousand 
francs  a  year — at  least,  so  says  Madame  Bonaparte.  Her  jewels  are  very  fine. 
Madame  Bonaparte  says  they  are  mostly  imitation,  but  I  think  it  is  a  case  of  'sour 
grapes.' " 


44  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Robert  Patterson,  who  was  then  a  widow,  she  says,  writ 
ing  from  Europe: 

"Mrs.  Robert  Patterson  is  coming  out;  she  will  be  the  best 
sailor  in  the  world.  Her  sisters  are  not  yet  married,  which, 
considering  their  persevering  endeavors  and  invincible  cour 
age,  rather  surprises  me. " 

Mrs.  Robert  Patterson  was  Mary  Caton,  who  subse 
quently  married  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley,  Lord  Lieutenant 
of  Ireland.  Of  this  marriage  in  1825,  the  Madame  writes: 

"He  is  sixty-five.  He  married  an  Italian  singer,  by  whom 
he  had  a  family  of  children.  She  is  dead.  He  has  no  fortune. 
He  is  over  head  and  ears  in  debt.  He  is  the  brother  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington. " 

Her  adoration  of  rank  is  so  great,  however,  that,  after 
this  summing  up,  she  says: 

"She  (referring  to  Mrs.  Patterson)  has  made  the  grandest 
match  that  any  woman  has  ever  made. " 

She  adds: 

"If  Jerome  were  a  girl  and  had  made  such  a  match,  I  am 
convinced  that  I  would  have  died  with  joy. " 

There  was  a  great  disappointment  in  store  for  her,  for  in 
1829  Jerome  Bonaparte,  her  son,  married  a  Baltimore  girl, 
a  Miss  Williams.  She  never  entirely  recovered  from  this 
marriage.  Added  to  this  she  received  another  blow  by  the 
terms  of  her  father's  will,  which  was  recorded  in  1835.  By 
this  will  he  left  his  daughter  less  than  he  did  other  members 
of  his  family.  He  thus  explains  why  he  did  this: 

"The  conduct  of  my  daughter  'Betsy'  has  through  life 
been  so  disobedient,  that  in  no  instance  has  she  ever  consid 
ered  my  opinion  or  feelings.  Indeed,  she  has  caused  me 
more  anxiety  and  trouble  than  all  of  my  other  children  put 
together." 

It  is  apparent  that  Elizabeth  Patterson  was  a  woman  de- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  45 

termined  to  have  her  own  way,  and  willing  to  take  the  con 
sequences.  But  her  plans  were  doomed  to  disappointment. 

Her  son  died  in  1870. 

She  passed  the  last  eighteen  years  of  her  life  in  Baltimore 
at  a  boarding-house.  She  was  eighteen  years  older  than  Mr. 
Latrobe,  and  died  in  1879.  She  had  saved  and  accumulated 
money,  and  disposed,  by  her  will,  of  about  $1,500,000. 

Her  protrait  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  unfinished,  as  many  of 
Stuart 's  portraits  are,  was  obtained  by  Robert  Gilmor  from 
Stuart  and  hung  in  the  Gallery  of  the  Maryland  Historical 
Society. 

Continuing  Mr.  Latrobe 's  narrative: 

"It  was  at  the  Avenue  House  that  I  first  saw  Francis  S. 
Key  (author  of  the  'Star-Spangled  Banner')  and  Henry 
Clay.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clay  were  frequent  visitors,  and  here 
I  had  the  honor  of  having  my  ears  soundly  boxed  by  Mrs. 
Madison.  I  had  been  on  some  outdoor  errand,  and  was 
loitering  along  with  my  hat  down  over  my  ears  on  the  gravel 
path,  which  was  between  the  poplars  which  separated  the 
carriage  drive  from  the  brick  pavement  in  front  of  the  house, 
when  I  suddenly  found  an  immense  gray  horse  on  either  side 
of  me.  Escaping  under  the  belly  of  the  horse  on  my  right, 
I  ran  as  hard  as  I  could  home,  and  hid  myself.  At  that  time 
the  President  drove  four  grays,  and  I  had  been  caught  be 
tween  the  leaders.  Being  sent  for  into  the  parlor,  I  found  Mrs. 
Madison  and  my  mother,  and  the  former,  who  was  standing 
up  at  the  time,  seized  and  shook  me,  saying  as  she  boxed  my 
ears,  'You  young  villain,  you  scared  me  out  of  my  senses. ' 
My  mother  shook  me  into  the  bargain,  to  make  me  stop  cry 
ing,  and  I  was  dismissed  in  disgrace. 

"It  was  in  the  Avenue  house  that  I  had  my  first  lessons 
in  drawing  from  an  Italian  sculptor  named  Andrei  .  ... 
The  leaves  at  the  base  of  the  Breccia  columns  of  the  old  House 


46  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

of  Representatives  are  in  part  his  work.  My  father  had  sent 
to  Italy  for  sculptors  for  the  work  required  to  be  done  on 
the  Capitol,  and  there  are  now  before  me,  in  my  mind's  eye, 
three,  Franzonis  Gairdello,  Cousice  and  Capellano,  as  though 
I  had  parted  from  them  yesterday  only.  .  .  It  was  among 
them  that  I  picked  up  much  that  has  been  useful  to  me 
through  life. 

"The  war  of  1812  had  begun.  A  ball  was  given  to  cele 
brate  a  naval  victory.  Mrs.  Madison  was  among  the  guests, 
and  the  officers  who  had  been  charged  with  carrying  the 
flags  of  the  captured  ship  to  Washington,  brought  them  to 
the  ball  room  and,  after  a  proper  address,  unrolled  them 
upon  the  floor,  whereupon  Mrs.  Madison  requested  that  they 
might  be  taken  up,  saying:  'The  ensigns  of  a  brave  enemy 
are  worthy  of  too  much  honor  to  be  trodden  under  foot.' ' 

The  war  of  1812  shut  off  all  funds  which  might  be  used  for 
building  the  Capitol,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  left 
Washington  in  1813,  with  his  family,  for  Pittsburgh.  A  de 
scription  of  the  journey  is  given  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  thus: 

"All  things  being  at  last  ready,  the  journey  began  in  our 
own  carriage  drawn  by  Peacock  and  Turkey,  two  stout  bay 
horses  that  had  been  for  some  years  in  service.  And  this 
carriage  deserves  description.  It  had  been  built  after  a 
design  of  my  father  and  its  color  was  a  dark  olive  green.  It 
had  the  usual  seats  for  four  persons  vis-a-vis,  and  the  driver 's 
seat  was  under  the  same  roof.  But  instead  of  giving  him 
the  entire  width  of  the  seat  a  semi-circular  space  in  the  centre 
was  surrounded  with  a  back,  elbow  high,  on  either  side  of 
which  were  nooks  that  we  children  called  'nests'  and 
which  we  occupied  with  our  backs  to  the  horses  and  our  feet 
over  the  front  seat.  This  gave  us  a  capital  chance  to  talk 
with  David,  the  coachman,  a  jet  black  little  fellow  who  drove 
for  my  father  as  long  as  the  latter  had  horses  to  drive.  To 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  47 

obviate  the  possibility  of  one  of  us  children  falling  out  of 
the  usual  side  door,  while  leaning  against  it  to  look  out,  my 
father  put  the  door  behind,  making  it  necessary  to  scramble 
over  the  hind  seat  to  get  into  the  carriage.  The  curtains 
were  of  leather,  and  were  so  contrived  that  by  an  ingenious 
arrangement  of  pulleys,  they  could  be  drawn  into  the  roof 
instead  of  being  fastened  at  the  edges  in  the  usual  way.  In 
the  bottom  of  the  vehicle  was  a  well,  a  good  sized  box  that 
could  be  lifted  out,  its  cover  forming  a  part  of  the  floor. 
It  was  waterproof,  as  it  needed  to  be  when  the  carriage 
was  crossing  fordable  streams.  I  am  particular  in  this 
description  because  of  the  impression  left  on  my  memory 
of  its  remarkable  contrivances.  In  those  days  our  journeys 
from  Washington  to  Philadelphia  to  see  my  grandfather 
were  made  in  it. 

"My  impression  is  that  the  first  stage  of  our  journey 
was  Montgomery  Court-house,  from  which  we  dragged 
through  the  long  and  wearying  distance  to  Pittsburgh.  After 
passing  through  Boonsboro  on  the  National  road  we  had 
nothing  better  than  the  common  country  roads  to  travel  on, 
and  how  we  pulled  through  them  with  the  same  pair  of 
horses  is  to  this  day  to  me  a  wonder.  It  rained  nearly 
every  day.  Sometimes  we  would  lay  by  to  rest  the  horses, 
sometimes  have  to  pass  into  the  fields  to  avoid  the  mud 
holes  of  the  road.  I  fell  sick  of  fever  and  ague  and  shook 
and  burned  alternately  for  days.  I  remember  stopping  at  a 
log  house  of  some  size  in  a  clearing,  which  was  the  residence 
of  General  Arthur  St.  Clair,  who  had  been  beaten  by  the 
Indians  hi  a  battle  known  in  those  days  as 'St.  Clair 's  defeat.'* 
I  remember,  too,  passing  over  the  battle-ground  of  Braddock> 
that  is  to  say,  I  heard  it  so  spoken  of,  and  have  a  recollection 

*This  battle  was  fought  in  November  1791  near  Cincinnati.    A  force  of  3000 
troops,  ill-equipped  and  undisciplined,  was  defeated  and  many  of  them  killed. 


48  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

of  fording  a  creek  called  Turtle  Creek  near  the  spot.  I 
remember,  too,  that  a  number  of  gentlemen  came  out  from 
Pittsburgh  to  meet  my  father.  They  were  on  horseback 
and  rode  alongside  the  carriage.  Other  things  I  remember 
also  of  this  miserable  journey,  not  worth  recording. 

"Our  house  in  Pittsburgh  was  a  handsome  new  three- 
story  brick  house,  in  which  much  of  the  furniture  that  had 
preceded  us  was  already  stored  or  placed  in  order  by  the 
exertions  of  Kitty  who  had  gone  before  in  the  stage,  and 
where  we  were  very  comfortable.  My  father  addressed 
himself  at  once  to  his  business,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
a  social  circle  gathered  about  our  fireside.  I  was  put  to 
school  in  Cherry  Alley  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stockton,  and 
began  Latin  and  grew  weary  over  'penna'  and  'stella' 
and  had  the  usual  routine  of  schoolboy  life.  The  'works', 
as  they  were  called  and  where  my  father's  business  lay 
and  where  the  steamboat  'Buffalo'  was  built,  were  not 
far  from  our  dwelling,  and  these  'works'  were  my  play 
ground.  They  were  not  far  from  the  site  on  which  Roose 
velt  had  built  the  'New  Orleans'.  My  father's  shipbuilder 
was  a  little  man  named  Hurley,  and  the  head  carpenter 
was  a  Mr.  Holdship.  These  are  the  only  names  that  I  can 
recall,  but  I  was  hand  and  glove  with  all  the  mechanics 
about  the  place,  having  had  a  weakness  in  that  direction 
that  has  continued  all  my  life. 

"I  am  afraid  that  I  was  not  as  attentive  to  my  lessons 
at  Mr.  Stockton 's  as  I  might  have  been.  I  was  an  invet 
erate  reader,  but  Ross's  Latin  Grammar  was  not  a  favorite 
work.  I  remember  my  playfellows  much  better  than  I 
do  my  course  of  studies.  All  of  them  are  dead  now,  I 
believe,  except  Ross  Wilkins,  who  is,  or  was  lately,  a  judge 
of  a  United  States  Court  in  Michigan.*  He  was  a  hand- 

*  The  above  was  written  many  years  ago. 


MONT1CELW 
Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 


vr/Km 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  49 

some,  well-built  lad,  and  the  envy  of  the  school  when  he 
mounted  the  rostrum  formed  by  removing  the  master's  chair 
and  recited  'My  name  is  Norval'  or  'Gods,  can  a  Roman 
Senate  long  debate?,'  etc.,  on  Saturdays.  He  was  one  of 
the  big  boys,  and  much  my  senior. 

"  It  was  in  Pittsburg  that  my  first  circus  experience  was 
had.  Pepin  and  Brechard  came  there  with  a  troupe  that 
performed  in  a  temporary  edifice  that  my  father  in  the 
exercise  of  the  humblest  function  of  an  architect  designed 
and  had  erected.  'Peacock'  and  'Turkey,'  the  carriage 
horses,  and  a  saddle  horse  yclept  'Codger',  which  had  been 
added  to  the  stables  of  the  family  by  this  time,  were  bor 
rowed  by  the  circus  people,  and  did  their  duty  in  the  '  Grand 
Entree.'  Since  then  I  have  seen  a  great  many  such  ex 
hibitions  both  in  Europe  and  America.  I  recollect  none 
of  them  now  in  their  details,  but  I  can  recall  every  incident 
of  my  first  experience  in  this  line,  and  see  Pepin,  a  heavy 
built  man,  throwing  up  knives  and  apples  alternately  as 
he  rode  around  the  ring,  and  exciting  the  boisterous  applause 
of  the  audience  as  he  caught  an  apple  on  the  knife  behind 
his  back.  The  world  was  filled  with  simple  folk  in  those 
days,  who  were  amused  by  small  matters. 

"While  in  Pittsburgh  the  battle  of  Lake  Champlain  took 
place,  and  among  other  agreeable  visitors  to  my  father's 
house  were  two  English  officers,  whose  names  have  passed 
from  me,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  and  were  on  parole. 
There  was  a  sergeant  of  marines,  too,  who  was  in  the  engage 
ment  and  became  a  prisoner,  whom  my  father  employed 
hi  some  capacity  about  the  works.  This  man  found  me  a 
much  apter  scholar  than  did  Mr.  Stockton,  and  I  learned 
the  manual  of  the  musket  from  him  with  an  eagerness  that 
was  wanting  hi  Cherry  Alley.  At  this  day  I  recall  his 
looks.  He  was  the  beau  ideal  of  manly  beauty,  some 


50  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

forty  years  old,  about  six  feet  in  height,  and  as  gentle  as  a 
woman  in  his  way.  I  was  a  great  pet  with  him,  and  when 
later  I  went  to  West  Point,  I  had  to  unlearn  the  manual 
that  he  had  taught  me. 

"It  may  amuse  you  to  know  what  was  in  1814-5  the 
fitting  up  of  a  well  arranged  workshop,  that  you  may  com 
pare  it  with  the  appliances  of  the  present  day.  My  father 's 
great  fault  was  that  he  always  wanted  to  do  things  of  im 
portance  in  the  very  best  way,  and  he  sometimes  in  con 
sequence  incurred  the  charge  of  extravagance;  nor  did  he 
deviate,  on  this  occasion,  from  his  usual  course,  in  the 
building  he  erected  for  the  steamboat  company.  It  was 
in  the  shape  of  a  'T.'  Imagine  four  square  apartments, 
three  forming  the  top,  and  the  other  the  stem  of  the  letter. 
In  the  central  apartment  on  the  top  was  a  great  horizontal 
wooden  wheel,  sustained  near  the  ceiling  upon  a  centre 
shaft  or  axis,  whose  pivot  of  support  was  near  the  floor. 
This  wheel  was  cogged,  and  the  cogs  meshed  or  worked 
into  cogs  on  horizontal  shafts  extending  into  the  apart 
ment  on  the  west,  in  which  were  the  lathes  of  the  establish 
ment.  From  the  great  wheel  there  depended  four  yokes 
for  the  horses  that  supplied  the  motive  power.  The  apart 
ment  to  the  east  was  the  boiler  shop  and  foundry,  and  the 
stem  of  the '  T '  was  the  blacksmith 's  shop.  Whenever  more 
motive  power  was  wanted,  a  shaft  was  connected  with  the 
great  cog  wheel  to  supply  it.  And  yet  in  such  a  shop,  and 
there  were  none  better  in  Pittsburgh  in  those  days,  admir 
able  work  was  done,  slowly  done,  but  well  done. 

"I  find  myself  tempted  to  linger  over  the  reminiscences 
of  those  days  and  enumerate  my  schoolboy  friendships,  my 
fallings  out,  my  makings  up  with  those  long  dead,  for  I 
have  survived  the  most  of  them  all  (1888).  I  think  but 
very  few  of  them  now  live.  My  intimates  were  the  chil- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  51 

dren  of  my  schoolmaster,  Mr.  Stockton,  and  the  son  of  Mr. 
Bakewell,  the  proprietor  of  certain  glass  works  that  had  then 
achieved  reputation.  There  was  a  George  B oilman,  and 
a  Sinclair  Denny  who  was  afterwards  my  comrade  at  West 
Point.  Poor  George  was  run  over  by  a  cart  and  died  in 
consequence. 

"There  was  an  incident  at  this  time  that  I  have  never 
forgotten.  The  steamboat  'Buffalo,'  built  under  my 
father's  direction,  was  launched  not  far  from  the  'works/ 
A  shelf  had  been  cut  into  the  bank  of  a  creek  that  flowed 
at  the  foot  of  Boyd's  hill  on  the  side  of  Pittsburgh  as  then 
built  up,  and  at  the  river  end  of  this  shelf  was  a  crib  wharf 
that  had  been  filled  up  with  the  earth  from  the  excavation. 
Over  this  wharf  the  vessel  had  to  be  launched  stern  foremost. 
The  pitch  that  had  been  given  to  it  and  the  angle  of  the 
ways  whose  furthest  end  rested  upon  the  upper  log  of  the 
wharf  had  been  calculated  with  reference  to  high  water  in 
the  Monongahela,  when  it  was  expected  that  the  steamer 
would  be  ready  for  the  river.  Now  it  so  happened  that 
when  this  time  arrived,  although  there  had  been  a  rise, 
it  did  not  by  several  feet  come  up  to  what  had  been  antici 
pated.  Hour  after  hour  the  gradual  rise  of  the  stream  was 
watched,  until  it  was  apparent  that  the  greatest  rise  prob 
ably  for  several  months  had  been  reached,  and  to  all  appear 
ances  the  launch  had  become  impracticable.  Delay  was 
ruinous.  The  risk  to  the  vessel  was  very  great  if  a  launch 
were  attempted  at  that  stage  of  the  river.  My  father  was 
in  great  trouble.  There  was  no  time  even  for  deliberation. 
The  next  half  hour  might  witness  a  fall  in  the  Monongahela. 
Hurley,  the  shipbuilder,  hesitated,  but  he  would  not  say 
'No'  and  my  father  took  the  responsibility.  The  upper 
log  of  the  wharf  was  cut  away  the  width  of  the  vessel.  I 
see  the  place  now  in  my  mind's  eye,  and  at  the  hour  ap- 


52  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

pointed,  when  it  had  been  believed  that  the  continued  rise  of 
the  water  would  make  the  launch  a  safe  one,  the  signal  was 
given.  The  shores  were  removed,  the  wedges  were  driven, 
and  the  'Buffalo'  commenced  its  slow  descent.  This  was 
quickened  somewhat  as  the  vessel  neared  the  wharf,  then 
became  slower — and  then  slower,  until  one  half  of  the  steam 
boat  overhung  the  edge.  At  this  moment,  the  thousand 
spectators  expected  to  see  the  'Buffalo'  break  asunder, 
but  the  downward  movement  continued,  became  rapid  as 
the  vessel  tilted,  more  rapid  still,  as  with  a  mighty  rush  the 
stern  struck  the  turbid  tide  and  was  buried  beneath  it, 
until  with  a  great  concussion  the  bow  dropped  into  the 
river.!  As  may  well  be  supposed,  my  father  drew  a  long  breath 
when  he  saw  by  the  water  line  that  there  was  no  'hogging' 
and  all  was  safe. 

"The  'Buffalo'  had  been  built  upon  estimates  based  upon 
prices  that  had  ruled  when  Roosevelt  had  built  the  '  New 
Orleans.'  They  were  all  too  low.  Everything  had  ad 
vanced  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  per  cent  in  the  interval. 
This  occasioned  dissatisfaction.  Money  from  the  east  was 
not  forthcoming  to  make  up  the  difference,  and  my  father 
was  in  the  greatest  trouble.  Fulton  died  too,  and  the 
confusion  that  existed  prior  to  his  death  increased  tenfold. 
These  were  days  of  bitter  sorrow.  My  father,  a  highly 
sensitive  and  nervous  man,  was  overcome,  and  for  a  season 
fairly  broken  down.  The  works,  from  which  man  after 
man  had  been  dismissed,  were  closed,  and  the  'Buffalo' 
lay  unfinished  in  the  stream.  I  have  vague  recollections 
of  the  distress  of  my  mother,  and  know  that  it  was  a  season 
of  actual  distress  in  more  ways  than  one. 

"By  this  time  there  was  peace  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain.  After  the  war  with  England, 
and  in  the  midst  of  our  family  troubles,  my  mother  received 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  53 

a  letter  from  Mrs.  Madison  informing  her  that  my  father 
had  been  or  would  be  reappointed  to  his  old  office  as  archi 
tect  of  the  Capitol.  Our  return  to  Washington  followed 
not  long  after,  travelling  in  the  same  carriage  that  brought 
us  to  Pittsburg,  with  a  pair  of  new  horses,  'Peacock'  and 
'Turkey'  having  found  another  master  in  the  season  of 
distress.  'Codger'  had  been  retained,  and  my  mother 
rode  him  the  whole  distance  almost  from  Pittsburg  to 
Washington. 

"It  seems  to  me  worth  mentioning  that,  while  at  Pitts 
burg,  I  saw  the  launching  of  the  'Vesuvius'  and  'Etna,'  the 
second  and  third  steamboats  that  ever  floated  upon  the 
Western  waters.  They  were  launched  sideways  from  a 
yard  near  the  junction  of  the  Monongahela  and  Allegany 
Rivers  and,  when  they  dropped  from  the  end  of  the  ways, 
rolled  gunwales  under  in  the  water. 

"It  was  in  the  spring  of  1815  that  my  father  returned  to 
Washington.  His  residence  in  Pittsburg  had  been  an  un 
fortunate  one  in  every  way,  and  he  was  a  poor  man  when 
he  resumed  his  office  as  architect  of  the  public  buildings. 
Poor  in  having  nothing  ahead,  and  living  upon  his  salary 
and  earnings  outside  his  office  as  an  architect,  with  enough 
to  maintain  his  position  in  society,  but  in  a  quieter  way  than 
before  the  war. " 

After  the  return  to  Washington,  John  H.  B.Latrobe  and 
his  brother  Ben  were  placed  at  Georgetown  College — on  June 
26,  1815.  They  were  entered  as  boarders  and  the  entrance- 
book  says:  "To  pay  agreeable  to  the  prospectus  for  all 
things  except  clothes,  $150.  each  per  annum.  They  each 
brought  their  own  bed  and  bedding."  There  is  no  record 
of  their  studies  while  in  Georgetown  College.  The  records 
of  1817  have  the  following  entry.  "In  1817  their  father 
went  home  to  Baltimore  and  took  his  two  sons  with  him." 


54  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Turning  again  to  Mr.  Latrobe's  notes,  he  says: 
"Our  new  house  was  on  the  range  of  hills  to  the  north 
that  overlook  the  City,  and  our  nearest  neighbor  was  Mrs. 
Joel  Barlow,  with  whose  fences  at  'Kalorama'  our  fences 
joined.  My  mother  was  thus  alongside  of  an  old  and 
valued  friend.  '  Speak 's  House/  for  so  was  our  new  resi 
dence  called,  was  a  double  house  with  a  pleasant  garden  in 
front  and  a  farm  and  fields  in  the  rear;  and,  although  not 
on  the  highway  of  the  avenue,  was  still  near  enough  to  the 
city  to  be  frequented  by  the  old  circle  of  friends. 

"I  was,  at  once,  sent  to  Georgetown  College  as  a  boarder 
and  resumed  the  detested  'hie,  hac,  hoc '  and  corresponding 
studies.  I  think  I  was  among  the  good  boys  here,  so  far 
as  not  having  had  to  stand  in  a  corner  by  the  clock  near 
President  Grassi's  door  more  than  once,  or  writing  verbs 
more  than  three  or  four  times.  We  had  a  poetical  usher, 
named  Kelly,  who  set  me  to  turning  passages  of  Ossian  into 
rhyme,  and  who  was  pleased  with  something  that  I  wrote 
about  'Torneo's  hoary  brow,'  and  made  much  of  me.  I 
remember  on  one  occasion,  when  'a  retreat'  was  in  progress, 
and  we  were  confined  for  hours  in  the  study  room,  with  the 
lower  half  of  inside  shutters  closed,  so  as  to  shut  out  the 
outside  world,  I  amused  myself  by  attempting  to  copy  a 
full  length  picture  of  the  Holy  Virgin  on  a  page  of  my  copy 
book.  For  this,  if  I  recollect  aright,  Jim  Patton  gave  me 
an  apple  from  his  desk  'on  the  sly,'  and  the  traffic  being 
discovered  and  being  deemed  contraband,  I  was  made  to 
kneel  in  the  middle  of  the  refectory  during  the  next  dinner 
time,  with  a  bit  of  bread  and  a  tin  cup  of  water  for  my  meal. 
Perhaps  I  have  not  properly  connected  the  offense  and  the 
punishment  here.  But  I  committed  the  offense  and  I  re 
ceived  a  punishment  such  as  I  have  decribed  for  some  offense 
or  other.  I  had  altogether  a  pretty  good  time  at  George- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  55 

town  College,  and  recall  a  thousand  pleasant  incidents  of 
my  schoolboy  life  there.  I  was  great  on  whittling  and  made 
a  set  of  wooden  chessmen  that  were  in  use  in  the  family  long 
afterwards.  I  was  strong  on  tops  and  clever  at  marbles. 
I  belonged  to  a  debating  society  too,  and  once  let  a  bigger  boy, 
T.  D.,  write  my  argument  on  a  question  about  Commerce, 
which  I  read  and  found,  when  he  replied  to  it,  that  he  had 
made  me  talk  nonsense  that  he  might  prove  me  to  be  a  fool. 
My  revenge,  not  intended  to  be  so  at  the  time,  was  to  burst 
into  tears  and  tell  the  whole  story,  to  the  discomfiture  of 
the  said  T.  D. 

"I  do  not  know  how  it  was,  but  I  was  the  only  Protestant 
boy  in  the  College  who  stuck  to  his  faith;  not  that  I  knew 
much  about  the  matter,  but  I  was  obstinate  by  nature  and 
impracticable.  T.  D.  was  as  good  a  Protestant  as  I  was, 
but  he  had  no  scruple  at  serving  at  Mass.  I  used  to  hear 
heretics  harshly  spoken  of,  and  felt  at  times  uncomfortable 
enough.  Nor  was  I  treated  unkindly  on  account  of  my 
creed.  On  the  contrary,  I  was  petted  rather  than  other 
wise.  Still,  I  was  mulish  enough,  I  dare  say.  I  remember 
that  on  one  occasion  I  saw  good  Mr.  Henry,  a  lay  brother, 
preparing  the  wafers  to  be  consecrated  for  use  in  the 
Communion.  They  were  made  in  a  sort  of  waffle  iron,  the 
proper  devices  being  engraved  on  the  inner  faces  of  the  imple 
ment.  The  wafers  fell  out  after  the  baking,  leaving  the 
intervening  scraps  of  thin  bread.  These  the  boys,  who  were 
permitted  to  see  the  operation,  ate  eagerly  as  Henry  gave 
them  to  his  visitors,  and  I  was  offered  my  share  of  them, 
but  was  afraid  to  taste  them,  though  sorely  tempted,  for 
fear  that  they  might  make  me  a  Catholic.  Little  did  I 
know  about  religion  in  my  twelfth  year. 

"How  well  I  remember  our  afternoons  at  the  College, 
when  at  five  o'clock  precisely  Father  MacElroy  appeared 


56  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

at  the  door  of  the  Seminary  Building,  as  it  was  called,  with 
a  mighty  basket  well  filled  with  great  chunks  of  bread,  one 
for  each  of  the  boys,  who  would  gather  in  expectation,  and 
then  rush  for  their  rations,  as  I  have  seen  the  pigeons  in  the 
great  square  of  Saint  Mark  at  Venice.  What  appetites  we 
had  in  those  days! 

"I  think  it  was  while  I  was  at  Georgetown  College  that 
an  event  occurred  that  affected  my  health  seriously  at  the 
time,  and  made  an  impression  that  I  must  carry  with  me 
to  my  grave.  It  was  during  the  Christmas  holidays.  My 
brother  Ben  and  myself  were  home  for  the  usual  vacation, 
and  on  Christmas  day  were  left  at  home  with  Mammy 
Kitty.  My  father  and  mother  had  gone  to  church  in  the 
carriage — the  present  St.  John 's  Church — and  the  cook  and 
chambermaid  had  leave  of  absence,  Kitty  undertaking  the 
duties  of  the  former  in  her  absence  for  the  occasion.  My 
sister  was  with  my  father  and  mother,  and  Ben  and  I  were 
playing  chess  in  my  mother's  room  upstairs.  Some  impulse 
which,  without  being  at  all  superstitious,  I  have  often  fancied 
was  inspired,  prompted  me  to  interrupt  the  game,  and  go 
down  into  the  dining  room  which  was  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  house.  Here  I  saw  blackened  rags  on  the  floor,  and 
fancied  a  strong  and  peculiar  odor.  Crossing  the  dining 
room  to  a  door  leading  to  a  narrow  passage  on  one  side  of 
which  was  a  pantry  leading  to  the  kitchen,  I  saw  poor  Kitty, 
naked,  at  a  big  table  with  a  roller  in  her  hands,  as  though  she 
would  prepare  a  mass  of  dough  before  her.  Her  clothes 
had  caught  fire  and  every  stitch  of  them  had  burnt  off.  She 
has  evidently  got  as  far  as  the  dining  room  in  search  of  help, 
had  fallen  probably,  had  lost  her  senses,  and,  in  the  madness 
of  her  agony,  had  returned  to  the  kitchen  and  resumed  there 
the  last  labor  she  had  been  engaged  in.  I  remember  running 
to  her,  and  clasping  my  arms  around  her  as  she  was  falling 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  57 

and  bearing  her  through  the  passage,  through  the  dining 
room,  the  poor  woman  clutching  the  door  knobs  as  she  passed. 
How  I  got  her  upstairs,  I  now  cannot  tell.  I  never  could 
tell.  But  I  succeeded,  and  placed  her  in  my  sister's  bed, 
which  was  in  the  back  room  adjoining  my  mother's  and 
covered  her  up  and  tucked  her  in,  supporting  the  edge  of 
the  bed  by  tilting  the  backs  of  chairs  under  it.  Here  I 
left  my  brother,  then  nine  years  old,  in  charge,  and  ran 
across  the  field  that  separated  our  place  from  'Kalorama', 
and  told  Mrs.  Barlow  what  had  happened.  Her  sister, 
Mrs.  Kennedy  I  think  the  name  was,  returned  with  me, 
with  cotton  and  oil,  and  as  we  reached  the  house  the  carriage 
with  my  father  and  mother  drove  to  the  door.  I  have  no 
distinct  recollection  of  what  followed,  beyond  finding  my 
self  in  the  dining  room  and  feeling  very  sick. 

"It  was  many  weeks  before  I  was  able  to  resume  my 
ordinary  course  of  life.  My  nervous  system,  they  said,  had 
received  a  shock;  and  I  have  at  times  the  nervousness,  that 
I  acknowledge  now,  as  a  characteristic  due  to  my  early  experi 
ence  as  here  detailed.  For  a  long  time  afterwards  it  was 
only  necessary  to  point  a  finger  at  me  persistently  to  bring 
tears  into  my  eyes.  When  I  was  well  enough,'  I  returned  to 
College.  From  Georgetown  College,  where  I  was  a  boarder, 
I  was  entered  as  a  day  scholar  at  Mr.  Carnahan  's  school  in 
Georgetown.  This  must  have  been  in  the  following  spring. 

"At  Mr.  Carnahan 's  I  made  good  progress  with  my  books 
and  my  health  improved  with  my  long  walks  to  and  from 
school.  I  remember  that  I  was  remarkable  for  the  facility 
with  which  I  read  Latin  hexameters.  When  Mr.  Carna 
han  became,  long  years  afterwards,  President  of  Princeton 
College,  he  used  to  speak  of  me  as  one  who  was  distinguished 
in  this  respect,  when  he  was  inquiring  about  his  old  scholars 
in  view  of  knowing  what  they  were  about  in  the  world.  I 


58  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

think  that  I  was  a  better  boy  after  the  death  of  Kitty  who 
died,  I  ought  to  have  said,  the  night  of  the  accident  that  I 
mentioned  before.  By  being  better,  I  mean  less  inclined 
to  be  mischievous  and  very  decidedly  graver. 

"In  all  these  days,  even  from  my  being  able  to  walk,  I 
had  a  turn  for  drawing,  and  there  is  now  somewhere  in  the 
family  a  note  in  my  mother's  handwriting,  describing  my 
first  attempt  at  art — a  soldier  with  his  gun  and  bayonet. 
The  merit  of  the  production  may  be  estimated  by  the  legs, 
which  were  like  two  L  's  attached  to  a  big  0.  But  I  did  better 
than  this  in  time;  and  at  Georgetown  College  one  Victor 
Dugour,  a  fellow  student,  gave  me  help  in  the  way  of  drawing 
trees.  In  'Speaks'  House'  I  was  quite  clever  at  copying, 
and  was  equal  to  making  copies  of  architectural  drawings 
very  cleverly.  My  father,  who  was  an  accomplished  draughts 
man  and  water  color  painter,  helped  me,  but  not  much. 
He  helped  me  with  my  Latin  and  French  much  more.  Still, 
I  was  drawing  whenever  I  could.  And  this  was  strange 
too,  for  I  had  no  genius  this  way.  I  had  a  fancy  only, 
great  perseverance  in  what  I  fancied  and  untiring  assiduity 
in  laboring  at  it.  I  have  little  faith  in  genius,  so  called, 
but  abiding  faith  in  toil.  I  draw  well  now,  I  believe,  and 
paint  better  than  many  of  those  who  make  their  living  by 
it.  But  all  that  I  do  or  ever  have  done  has  been  by  good 
hard  work  in  following  out  my  fancies.  My  father  designed 
St.  John's  Church,  Washington,  which  was  really  a  beauti 
ful  little  thing  in  its  day,  before  some  dull  fellow  made  a 
Roman  Cross  out  of  a  Greek  one,  and  stuck  on  a  stupid 
nondescript  portico  and  an  abominable  pretext  for  a  tower. 
During  one  of  my  father's  absences  for  a  few  days  from  home, 
I  made  a  copy  of  his  drawings  of  the  plan,  elevation  and 
section  of  the  building,  and  when  he  came  home  surprised 
him  with  the  exhibition  of  my  work. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  59 

"  I  rather  think  that  this  feat  must  have  been  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  long  summer  holidays;  for  my  father  took  me 
at  once  to  the  Capitol  and  set  me  to  work  there,  nothing 
loath,  in  the  office,  copying  drawings  of  various  parts  of  the 
building.  Since  then  I  have  been  again  and  again  in  the 
Capitol,  and  never  pass  through  certain  parts  of  it  without 
their  recalling  my  labor  in  the  office  making  copies  of  draw 
ings  of  certain  parts  of  it,  now  found  there. 

"When  my  holidays  were  over  I  had  done  so  much  that 
I  was  honestly  entitled  to  a  clerk 's  wages,  and  Colonel  Lane, 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Public  Buildings,  a  one  armed 
man  who  had  charge  of  the  disbursements,  paid  me  for  my 
services  $89.  This  was  my  first  earnings,  and  I  spent  it  all. 
Melvin,  the  tailor,  made  me  a  suit  of  clothes  for  part,  and 
what  remained  I  invested  in  a  tool  box.  This  was  in  my 
twelfth  year,  perhaps  my  thirteenth — probably  the  latter. 
Among  the  clerks  in  the  office  was  a  M.  Poussin,  a  French 
man,  a  descendant  of  the  great  painter  of  that  name.  He 
was  a  man  of  decided  talent,  and,  when  I  met  him  later  in 
life,  he  often  talked  of  my  labors  at  the  Capitol. 

"My  father  gave  me  about  this  time  my  first  lesson  in 
geography  in  an  original  way.  I  stretched  a  large  sheet 
of  old  drawing  paper  on  a  board,  and  on  the  edges  my  father 
marked  the  degrees  of  latitude  and  longitude.  I  was  then 
made  to  find  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  a  place  in  the 
Gazetteer,  to  use  a  T  square  to  draw  lines  from  the  corre 
sponding  degrees  on  the  edges  of  the  paper  where  the  inter 
section  of  the  two  lines  would  be  the  place  required,  where  I 
printed  as  best  I  could  the  name  of  the  place.  In  this  way, 
a  map  would  grow  as  far  as  the  Gazetteer  furnished  materials. 
But  my  great  delight  was  to  copy  pictures  of  soldiers.  Horses 
came  next  in  my  esteem;  and  Horace  Vemet's  lithographs 
of  these  subjects  were  my  great  delight.  Sometimes  my 


60  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

father  helped  me,  but  not  often.  Somehow  or  other,  how 
ever,  I  learned  to  draw  just  as  any  one  can  who  has  a  will 
and  a  desire  to  succeed. 

"As  mentioned  already,  my  father  had  a  contract  for 
supplying  the  City  of  New  Orleans  with  water,  and  had  sent 
my  half  brother,  Henry,  there  to  look  after  the  work.  While 
we  lived  in  Speaks'  house,  news  came  to  my  father  of  his 
death.  It  was  a  heavy  blow  to  him.  Henry  was  a  brave, 
gallant  fellow  who  had  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans  on  the  23rd  of  December,  was  accomplished 
for  his  years,  had  become  an  able  architect,  and  was  uni 
versally  esteemed.  My  father  felt  his  loss,  not  only  in  the 
death  of  a  son,  but  in  the  confusion  caused  by  it  in  connection 
with  the  contract.  I  remember  the  death  and  the  gloom 
and  the  mourning.  But  I  had  rarely  seen  my  brother, 
and  to  me  the  loss  was  a  slight  affliction.  Children  get 
over  such  things  easily. 

"Mr.  Monroe  was  inaugurated  about  this  time,  if  I  recol 
lect  rightly  (1817-1825),  and  I  was  permitted  to  take  'Cod 
ger,'  and  I  actually  rode  in  the  procession  from  the  'Seven 
Buildings'  where  Mr.  Madison  and  Mr.  Monroe,  his  suc 
cessor,  then  resided — for  the  President's  house  was  still  a 
ruin  after  its  burning  by  the  British  in  1814 — to  the  Capitol, 
or  rather,  a  platform  in  front  of  the  building  built  in  a  hurry 
after  a  design  of  my  father's,  on  which  the  ceremony  took 
place.  This  building  afterwards  acquired  celebrity  in  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  as  'the  old  Capitol  prison.'  Mr. 
Madison  was  a  small  spare  man  and  wore  powder.  I  see  him 
now  in  my  mind's  eye,  as  he  advanced  with  Mr.  Monroe 
to  the  front  of  the  platform,  and  then  retired,  when  Mr. 
Monroe,  after  taking  the  oath,  delivered  his  address.  I 
am  not  sure,  on  reflection,  that  Mr.  Monroe  was  not  resid 
ing  at  O'Neill's  and  not  at  the  'Seven  Buildings'  until  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  61 

'White  House'  was  repaired.  At  any  rate  I  have  a  recol 
lection  of  going  with  the  crowd  that  followed  the  President 
after  the  inauguration  into  a  large  room  at  O'Neill's  and 
seeing  a  lady  at  the  upper  end  of  it,  who  I  thought  was  very 
handsome  with  a  high  color,  and  who  somebody  said  was 
Mrs.  Monroe.  Writing  in  this  desultory  way  the  exact 
accuracy  of  my  recollection  is  not  very  material,  however. 

"While  we  lived  in  'Speaks'  House,'  I  first  saw  our  good 
friend  Robert  General  Goodloe  Harper,  who  came  with  his  son 
Charles,  the  fidus  Achates  of  my  later  life.  Richard  Derby, 
too,  I  remember  well.  I  see  him  now  as  he  sat  one  summer 
evening  on  the  front  door  steps,  and,  bathed  in  moonlight, 
sang  to  my  mother 's  guitar '  of  a '  the  airs  the  winds  can  blow. ' 
Few  men  in  social  life  had  a  wider  reputation,  in  those  days, 
than  Mr.  Derby  of  Boston — Dick  Derby,  as  he  was  commonly 
called.  But  our  distance  from  '  the  avenue, '  as  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  was  called,  narrowed  our  number  of  visitors  while 
we  lived  in  'Speaks'  House.' 

"My  acquaintance  with  African  Colonization  began  here. 
I  often  rode  'Codger'  into  Georgetown  on  errands  for  the 
family,  and  on  one  occasion,  as  I  was  returning,  I  was  at 
tracted  by  the  lights  in  a  church,  not  far,  if  I  recollect,  from 
the  higher  of  the  two  bridges  over  Rock  Creek.  Curiosity 
led  me  to  dismount,  hitch  '  Codger'  and  look  into  the  church. 
A  public  meeting  was  being  held  there,  and  Mr.  Francis 
Scott  Key  was  the  speaker.  All  I  could  gather  was  that  he 
spoke  about  Africa;  in  what  connection,  however,  I  could 
not  tell.  I  remained  but  a  short  time  and  then  went  home. 
I  have  in  my  own  mind,  when  I  have  stated  this  fact,  as  I 
have  often  done,  both  in  public  and  in  private,  fixed  this 
church  near  the  high  bridge  as  the  locality,  but  in  this  I  may 
have  been  mistaken.  The  material  fact,  however,  is  inde 
pendent  of  the  locality. 


62  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"Mr.  Key  was  a  friend  of  my  father,  and  his  counsel  too. 
I  remember  him  well.  In  after  life,  as  a  man  grown,  I  saw 
him  often  when  we  were  both  actively  engaged  in  Coloniza 
tion.  He  was  of  the  middle  size,  was  very  spare  with  a 
slight  stoop.  His  features  were  aquiline,  his  eyes  deep  set, 
and  his  face  thin  and  seamed.  He  spoke  quickly  and  with 
energy,  and  no  one  ever  conversed  with  him  without  rec 
ognizing  his  ability.  He  was  a  gentleman  every  inch  of 
him,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term.  It  was  long  after  my 
first  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Key,  when  I  was  but  a  boy, 
that  I  connected  Colonization  and  himself  with  the  meeting 
that  I  have  described  in  Georgetown. 

"Two  friends  of  my  father's  must  not  be  omitted  from 
these  reminiscences — General  Swift  of  the  Engineers  and 
Colonel  Bomford  of  the  Ordnances.  The  latter  was  devoted 
to  his  gun,  and  I  used  to  be  his  companion  in  his  shooting 
excursions  into '  the  slashes, '  a  tract  of  low  and  marshy  ground 
lying  at  the  foot  of  the  range  of  hills  on  which  'Speaks' 
House '  stood.  General  Swift  was  a  very  handsome  man  with 
a  finely  developed  head,  and  refined  bearing.  Colonel 
Bomford  was  a  small  man  of  very  soldierly  carriage.  I  was 
a  favorite  with  both  these  gentlemen.  If  I  remember  rightly 
it  was  my  faculty  of  drawing  that  attracted  General  Swift, 
and  my  good  fellowship  in  our  shooting  tramps  that  influ 
enced  the  Colonel.  At  any  rate,  they  both  suggested  to  my 
father  that  I  should  be  sent  to  West  Point,  which  was  then 
beginning  to  improve  under  the  reviving  influences  of  Major 
Thayer,  who  had  succeeded  Swift  in  the  Superintendency.* 
My  father  wanted  me  to  follow  him  in  his  own  career  of 
engineer  and  architect,  and  consented  in  view  of  the  fact 

*  A  statute  has  now  been  erected  at  West  Point  in  his  honor,  having  an  in 
scription  in  which  he  is  called  the  "Father  of  the  United  States  Military  Academy." 
Mr.  Latrobe  gives  in  detail  his  own  efforts  to  obtain  a  tardy  recognition  of  Thayer's 
work  during  his  life. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  63 

that  the  education  I  should  receive  would  be  germane  to 
both  these  callings.  So  one  day  there  came  a  letter  from  the 
War  Office  to  the  care  of  my  father,  addressed  to  Cadet 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  signed  by  William  Graham,  acting 
Secretary  of  War,  directing  me  to  proceed  to  West  Point  in 
September  1818,  there  to  be  examined.  I  may  mention 
here  that  my  warrant,  subsequently  received,  was  signed  by 
John  C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War.  But  my  letter  of 
appointment  looked  long  ahead. 

"There  is  little  of  interest  to  be  recorded  of  my  life 
while  we  remained  at  'Speaks'  House.'  The  most  intimate 
friend  of  my  mother  was  our  neighbor,  Mrs.  Joel  Barlow, 
the  grounds  of  whose  residence  'Kalorama'  were  the  resort 
and  playground  of  my  brother,  sister  and  myself  for  many  a 
summer  day. 

"I  remember  it  was  at  'Speaks'  House'  that  I  began  to 
pick  up  French  in  a  way  worth  noting. 

"While  at  Georgetown  College  I  had  committed  to  memory 
a  page  or  two  of  4Du  Fieff's  Dialogues'  and  had  belonged 
to  a  French  Signum,  an  association  among  the  boys  who 
agreed  to  speak  nothing  but  French  to  each  other,  under 
the  penalty  of  having  a  piece  of  tin  called  'la  signe'  put  upon 
the  lad  who  replied  to  a  question  in  English.  This  he  kept 
until  he  could  pass  it  to  another  of  the  club  speaking 
English,  when  he  thrust  the  tin  on  him  saying  'prenez  la 
signe';  and  the  unhappy  lad  who  had  the  tin  at  sundown 
was  mulcted  some  small  sum,  to  be  paid  out  of  his  pocket 
money,  and  at  the  end  of  the  month  the  amount  thus  col 
lected  was  sent  into  Georgetown  and  laid  out  in  confection 
ery,  when  the  members  of  the  club  had  a  'feast'  in  the 
Seminary — the  college  for  the  priests. 

"Some  few  words  I  no  doubt  picked  up,  but  falling  in  with 
an  amusing  French  story-book  at  'Speaks'  House'  I  deter- 


64  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

mined  to  read  it,  with  the  aid  of  a  dictionary.  My  father 
would  not  assist  me,  although  he  spoke  French  as  he  did 
English,  but  let  me  worry  on.  I  learned  more  this  way  than 
I  ever  afterwards  did  in  the  regular  way.  I  recall  now  the 
pith  of  one  of  the  stories,  which  told  of  a  man  who  ridiculed 
the  gift  of  a  crutch  that  had  been  made  by  the  will  of  a  dying 
peasant,  until  one  day  when,  using  the  crutch  to  beat  a  donkey, 
it  broke  in  two  and  gold  coins  fell  from  the  hollow  sticks. 
My  dogged  perseverance  helped  me  in  learning  French,  as 
it  has  on  other  occasions  stood  me  in  good  stead. 

"It  occurs  to  me,  'apropos  of  'Speaks'  House,'  to  describe 
a  matter  that  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  mentioned  in 
any  publication — a  mode  adopted  by  my  father  in  taking 
down  the  entablature,  after  the  burning  of  the  Capitol  by 
the  British  had  left  it  supported  on  the  splintered  and  totter 
ing  wrecks  of  the  friable  sandstone  columns  that  had  sup 
ported  it.  He  had  the  cord-wood,  afterwards  used  in  heating 
the  Capitol,  piled  carefully  between  the  columns  up  to  the 
entablature,  whose  weight  being  thus  sustained,  the  danger 
threatened  by  it  was  obviated. 

"A  memorable  incident  in  this  part  of  my  life  was  a 
journey  on  horseback  that  I  made,  mounted  on  'Codger/ 
with  my  father  to  Loudoun  County,  Virginia,  where  we  were 
the  guests  of  Mr.  Samuel  Clapham.  The  object  of  the  visit 
was  to  examine  a  marble  reported  to  exist  in  the  neighborhood 
in  the  Blue  Ridge.  While  at  Mr.  Clapham 's,  my  father 
first  saw,  or  rather  saw  for  the  first  time,  the  Breccia  from 
which  the  columns  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  then  being 
rebuilt,  were  afterwards  obtained.  I  remember  his  breaking 
off  a  piece  from  a  protruding  rock  in  one  of  Mr.  Clapham 's 
fields  and  holding  it  to  a  grindstone  turned  by  a  negro  boy 
until  a  flat  surface  was  obtained,  which,  wetted,  showed  what 
the  appearance  would  be  when  polished.  This  was  so  satis- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  65 

factory  that  an  examination  for  quantity  was  made,  which 
resulted  in  finding  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  a  place  where 
quarries  were  opened  and  from  which  the  great  columns, 
some  of  them  monoliths,  were  procured.  I  think  that  I 
paid  a  visit  to  the  quarries  at  a  later  date,  when  Mr.  Hartnet, 
the  quarrier,  was  in  full  blast  with  his  work." 

In  1 82  6  Madam  Anne  Royall,  speaking  of  Mr.  Latrobe,  says, 
"This  young  man,  it  is  well  known,  is  the  son  of  the  great 
Latrobe  who  discovered  the  native  marble  on  the  Potomac, 
and  showed  the  citizens  how  to  use  it — a  source  of  wealth 
to  the  country.  Look  to  the  columns  of  the  Capitol,  and 
blush,  ye  sons  of  Maryland,  that  ye  patronize  such  men  as 
W.  and  W.,  and  let  the  son  of  the  great  Latrobe  perish." — 
Black  Book,  Vol.  1,  f.  104. 

"I  think  I  was  much  given  to  falling  in  love  in  these  days, 
and  the  object  of  my  adoration  when  we  lived  in  '  Speaks ' 
House'  was  a  young  lady  very  much  older  than  myself  who 
resided  in  the  neighborhood,  to  whom  my  attachment  ex 
hibited  itself  in  the  very  innocent  way  of  reading  aloud  to 
her  'The  Hungarian  Brothers,'  'Thaddeus  of  Warsaw,' 
and  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  I  did  not  get  as  far  as  'The 
Children  of  the  Abbey.'  I  mention  this  incident  of  my 
boyhood  to  add  that  nothing  in  my  opinion  refines  the  nature 
of  boys  more  than  the  influence  upon  them  of  refined  women 
older  than  themselves. 

"My  father's  relations  with  the  authorities  in  connection 
with  the  public  buildings  in  Washington  were  not  agreeable. 
He  was  proud,  high  spirited  and  a  sensitive  man,  and  it 
was  still  the  day  when  an  architect  was  regarded  as  some 
what  of  a  boss  carpenter,  on  a  larger  scale.  Under  Mr. 
Madison 's  administration,  the  architect  had  absolute  control. 
The  expenditure  of  money  appropriated  by  Congress  for 
the  building  was  under  his  charge;  and  it  used  to  be  my 


66  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

father 's  boast  that  of  the  enormous  sums  he  had  disbursed 
every  cent  had  been  accounted  for.  On  his  return  from 
Pittsburgh  he  found  the  system  changed.  There  was  a 
commissioner  who  had  charge  and  had  certain  authority, 
and  somehow  or  other  misunderstandings  arose  that  culmi 
nated  in  my  father 's  sending  his  resignation  to  Mr.  Monroe. 
Of  course  there  are  two  sides  to  this  as  to  every  other  story, 
and  I  do  not  venture  to  tell  my  father's  here,  because  it 
might  affect  parties  now  alive.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  my 
father  ceased  to  be  architect  of  the  Capitol  in  the  early  part 
of  1817. 

"Of  course,  on  his  resignation  his  salary  ceased  and  a 
great  gap  was  made  in  his  means.  Washington  did  not 
then  afford  employment  to  an  architect  independent  of 
Government.  My  father  had  always  lived  up  to  his  income, 
and  when  this  was  so  much  impaired  as  it  was  now,  there 
was  more  or  less  pecuniary  trouble." 


CHAPTER  III 

LIFE  AT  WEST  POINT 

1818-1821 

In  December  1817,  when  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  Mr. 
Latrobe  was  appointed  a  cadet  and  directed  to  report  at 
West  Point  for  examination  in  September  of  the  following 
year. 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Latrobe,  Sr.,  to  his  father-in-law,  Mr. 
Isaac  Hazlehurst,  gives  his  reasons  for  sending  his  son  to 
West  Point.  The  letter  is  as  follows: — 

"Washington,  March  9,  1817. 
"Isaac  Hazlehurst,  Esq. 

Philadelphia. 
My   dear    Father: — 

"As  you  have  so  lately  seen  our  son  John,  and  have  had 
an  opportunity  of  knowing  what  sort  of  a  boy  he  is,  both  as 
to  disposition,  interests  and  growth,  I  need  not  describe  him. 
He  is  in  most  respects  everything  a  parent  could  wish,  and 
his  faults  are  partly  those  of  his  age;  partly  those  of  his 
extreme  forwardness  in  bodily  growth  and  mental  develop 
ment.  He  is,  in  fact,  conscious  of  great  superiority  over  all  his 
companions  of  the  same  age,  and  he  governs  their  bodies  and 
minds  rather  despotically.  I  am  not  without  apprehension 
that  with  such  a  constitution  and  strength,  and  with  such 
a  fearless  mind,  the  faults  which  now  appear  most  reprehensi 
ble  in  him  will  be  much  augmented  as  he  grows  up;  although 
his  goodness  of  heart  may  somewhat  repair  the  injurious 
effects.  Independent  of  the  haughty  manner  which  he, 

67 


68  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

even  in  our  family,  does  not  always  lay  aside,  we  have  no 
serious  fault  to  find  with  him.  We  must  now  consider  what 
part  he  is  to  act  in  the  world.  The  reputation  of  the  family 
on  both  sides  forbids  our  looking  to  any  profession  but  that 
of  a  gentleman  for  him.  If  he  is  to  be  a  lawyer  or  a  physi 
cian,  he  must  receive  a  college  education  of  three  years  at 
least.  If  a  merchant,  his  time  in  any  respectable  count 
ing-house  will  be  extremely  expensive  to  us.  But  as  I  am 
retrieving  my  affairs  very  rapidly,  I  am  not  in  any  doubt 
as  to  my  being  able  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  education, 
and  I  confess  even  now  I  could  not  have  a  more  useful 
assistant  in  my  office.  But  he  ought  to  go  from  home, 
and  that  soon,  and  if  it  were  otherwise  desirable,  I  would 
much  prefer  to  bring  him  up  to  any  other  profession.  One 
of  our  most  intimate  friends  here  is  Colonel  Bomford  of 
the  Ordnance.  He  is  a  man  of  considerable  professional 
merit,  as  well  as  private  worth,  and  he  and  John  have  formed 
a  very  close  acquaintanceship.  Very  unequal,  but  other 
wise  very  intimate.  Colonel  Bomford  has  filled  his  heart 
with  the  advantages  of  an  education  at  West  Point,  and 
whatever  else  he  may  submit  to  be  done  with  him,  nothing 
will  so  well  satisfy  him  as  to  go  to  West  Point.  The  ad 
vantages  which  this  career  afford  are: — 

"First:  His  education  will  cost  us  nothing,  and  it  will  be 
of  the  very  best  kind.  He  will  learn  to  speak  French 
fluently,  and  become  an  excellent  mathematician,  drafts 
man  and  chemist. 

"Second:  His  pay — $19.00  a  month — will  clothe  him, 
and  in  fact  $100.00  per  annum  will  be  ample  additional 
allowance  for  other  expenses.  He  can  spend  two  months 
annually  at  home. 

"Third:  The  severe  military  discipline  he  must  undergo, 
the  early  hours  and  exercise  among  the  mountains,  appear 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  69 

necessary  to  his  indolence  and  the  development   of   his 
constitution. 

"Fourth:  As  a  preparatory  education  for  civil  depart 
ment  of  his  preference,  he  cannot  possibly  have  a  better. 

"Fifth:  In  three  years  he  is  entitled  to  a  Second  Lieu 
tenancy,  and  may  then  stay  at  West  Point  or  be  employed 
at  some  fortification  which  may  then  be  in  the  course  of  con 
struction.  He  may  then  at  twenty-one  or  twenty-two, 
if  I  live  so  long,  take  my  place  and  continue  as  an  architect 
or  civil  engineer. 

"The  objection  seems  to  me  to  be  comprised  in  one,  name 
ly,  a  determined  taste  acquired  at  West  Point  for  military 
life,  yielding  in  our  country  neither  profit  nor  honor.  We 
are  now  anxiously  debating  on  the  point,  believing  that  in 
May  or  June  we  will  be  able  to  place  him  in  a  military 
school  with  advantage,  but  to  your  wishes  we  are  deter 
mined  to  submit. 

(Signed)   "B.   H.   Latrobe." 

As  already  stated  by  his  son,  the  elder  Latrobe  moved 
to  Baltimore,  and  was  engaged  in  the  duties  of  his  profession. 
Among  other  buildings  he  erected  were  the  Exchange  and 
the  Cathedral.  The  Cathedral,  as  shown  by  his  letters, 
was  under  roof  in  1818. 
Mr.  Latrobe  thus  describes  the  change: — 
"The  end  was  another  change  of  residence,  and  my 
father  moved  to  Baltimore  and  rented  a  house  on  the  south 
side  of  Lexington  Street,  near  Liberty,  and  opened  his 
office  as  an  architect.  The  selection  of  Baltimore  as  a 
place  of  residence  was  due  to  his  having  two  important 
works  there  then  in  progress — the  Roman  Catholic  Cathe 
dral  and  the  Baltimore  Exchange;  nor  was  the  fact  that 
his  close  and  excellent  friend,  General  Robert  Goodloe 
Harper,  resided  there,  without  its  influence. 


70  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"As  soon  as  the  family  was  settled  in  Baltimore,  I  joined 
them,  having  been  sent,  while  the  moving  was  going  on, 
to  pay  a  visit  to  my  grandfather  Hazlehurst,  whose  country 
residence  at  'Clover  Hill'  near  Mount  Holly,  N.  J.,  had 
been  for  many  years  a  place  of  reunion.  It  was  on  this 
occasion  that  my  uncle  lent  me  his  horse  'Sportsman. '  I  had 
driven  across  New  Jersey,  by  way  of  Freehold,  to  pay  a 
visit  to  my  sister,  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  matters  that  I  mention 
only  to  show  that  at  fourteen  I  was  regarded  as  more  worthy 
of  confidence  than  boys  of  that  age  usually  are. 

"How  well  I  remember  the  stage  journey  from  Philadel 
phia,  the  wretched  roads,  the  ferriage  across  the  Susque- 
hannah,  the  unbridged  creeks  that  intersected  the  road, 
the  '  stalling  of  the  vehicle  in  the  mud, '  my  ride  on  a  leader 
of  the  team,  with  the  driver  on  the  other,  to  procure  assist 
ance,  in  a  snowstorm,  from  a  house  a  mile  or  two  ahead, 
our  arrival  at  Elkton,  where  a  ball  was  in  progress  at  the 
Tavern  and  where  the  fiddles  and  the  dancing  and  the  lights 
and  the  music  formed  such  a  contrast  to  the  darkness  and 
misery  from  which  the  bedraggled  passengers  had  been 
finally  rescued!  I  think  it  was  late  on  the  following  day 
that  the  stage  reached  Baltimore. 

"It  has  been  its  connection  with  this  journey  that  has 
recalled  the  first  time  that  I  ever  saw  Charles  Carroll  of 
'Homewood,'  the  son  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carroll  ton, 
unquestionably  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  distinguished 
looking  men  that  in  a  large  intercourse  with  the  world  I 
have  ever  met.  Of  a  noble  presence  and  a  most  gracious 
manner,  of  an  urbanity  that  marked  his  intercourse  with 
everyone  that  approached  him,  that  was  remarkable  in 
his  treatment  of  even  the  domestics  that  waited  on  him, 
with  the  most  scholarly  acquirements,  ready  in  conver 
sation,  full  of  anecdote  and  ready  at  repartee — it  was 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  71 

impossible  to  be  in  his  presence  without  admiring  him. 
His  likeness  to  the  best  portraits  of  George  IV  was  singular; 
and  persons  who  had  seen  the  two  reported  that  the  manner 
of  Mr.  Carroll  was  that  of  the  Prince  Regent.  Later  in 
life  I  saw  much  of  Mr.  Carroll,  and  perhaps  it  was  his 
invariable  kindness  that  attached  me  to  him,  and  colors 
my  description  after  so  long  an  interval. 

"In  Baltimore  I  was  sent  as  a  day  scholar  to  Saint  Mary's 
College.  I  believe  that  I  was  fairly  proficient  in  Latin  as 
far  as  Virgil  and  Horace,  and  could  scramble  through  a 
part  of  a  chapter  in  Leusden's  Greek  Testament,  though 
I  am  not  quite  sure  about  the  latter.  I  know  that  I  could 
scan  Latin  poetry  decently,  for  I  used  to  be  called  upon 
out  of  order  to  show  off.  The  ring  of  the  hexameters  was 
a  delight  to  me.  These  were  pleasant  days,  and  it  still 
stirs  my  heart  to  recall  them.  One  of  my  most  intimate 
friends  in  my  Saint  Mary's  days  was  Sam  Eccleston,  older 
than  I  was  and  one  or  two  classes  ahead  of  me,  a  fine  gallant 
boy,  full  of  talent  and  gifted  with  great  eloquence  even  as 
a  boy.  He  afterwards  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  and  died  Archbishop  of  Baltimore.  Many 
was  the  good  time  we  had  together  in  our  schoolboy  days. 

"My  career  at  Saint  Mary's  closed  with  my  performing 
Pharaoh  in  Hannah  More's  drama  of  Joseph  and  His  Breth 
ren.  My  father  wrote  the  epilogue  that  I  delivered,  and 
having  divested  myself  of  my  Turkish  costume,  ignorant  of 
the  Egyptian  dress,  our  dramatis  personae  followed  the 
fashion  of  Constantinople.  I  recited  a  piece  called  the 
Battle  of  New  Orleans,  written  by  Mr.  Sinnott,  our  English 
teacher,  of  which  I  recall  but  one  line, 

And  fell  a  victim  to  a  rifle  ball. 

"I  remember  that  my  recitation  was  followed  by  Eccles 
ton  giving  the  audience,  collected  at  the  annual  exhibition, 


72  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

'The  Combat'  from  the  Lady  of  the  Lake,  and  being  ap 
plauded  ten  times  more  than  I  was. 

"My  father,  mother,  brother  and  sister  went  to  Clover 
Hill  on  a  visit  to  my  grandfather  in  New  Jersey,  leaving 
me  to  follow  when  I  got  through  with  theatricals  at  St. 
Mary's. 

"I  had  all  this  time  my  warrant  as  a  cadet  and  looked 
forward  to  going  to  West  Point  in  September  1818,  then  but 
a  few  months  off.  Cockades  were  then  much  affected  by 
military  men,  and  I  spent  a  portion  of  my  pocket  money  in 
getting  one  made.  I  put  this  on  my  hat  and  was  very  much 
mortified  when  a  pipe-clayed  soldier  from  the  fort,  with 
his  hair  powdered  with  flour,  refused  to  recognize  the  badge 
as  entitling  me  to  pass  through  the  square  in  front  of  Colonel 
Armistead's  dwelling  on  the  occasion  of  his  funeral.  This 
was  in  April  1818.  Colonel  Armistead  was  bre vetted  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  for  his  gallant  defense  of  Fort  McHenry  in 
1814* 

"As  soon  as  the  exhibition  at  St.  Mary's  was  over,  I 
joined  my  mother,  brother  and  sister  at  Clover  Hill,  my 
grandfather's  residence  near  Mount  Holly,  New  Jersey, 
that  I  have  already  mentioned,  where  I  passed  a  happy 
summer,  until  the  latter  part  of  September,  when  I  set  out 

*From  the  American — Monday,  April  17,  1818.    A  hero  fallen. 
It  is  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  sorrow  and  regret  that  we  perform  the  painful 
duty  of  announcing  to  the  public  the  death  of 

COL.  GEORGE  ARMISTEAD, 
The  gallant  defender  of  Fort  McHenry. 

On  this  melancholy  occasion,  the  recollection  of  the  ever  memorable  14th  Septem 
ber  naturally  occurs  to  our  mind,  when  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  waved  in  proud 
defiance  of  a  formidable  foe,  and  after  a  furious  bombardment  of  twenty-three 
hours  continued  to  float  triumphant  on  the  ramparts.  Then  it  was  that  Balti 
more  was  saved,  and  a  wreath  of  never-fading  laurel  encircled  the  departed  hero's 
brow. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  73 

for  West  Point.  I  remember  the  stage  coach  ride  across 
Jersey,  and  my  putting  up  in  New  York  at  a  tavern  look 
ing  on  the  North  River,  not  very  far  from  the  Battery. 
I  think  I  only  took  one  meal  there,  having  arrived  in  the 
City  in  the  morning  and  having  found  a  sloop  at  a  wharf 
hard  by  that  was  going  up  the  Hudson  in  the  afternoon. 
I  remained  in  New  York,  however,  long  enough  to  purchase 
a  mahogany  flute  and  a  flaming  bright  green  watch  chain, 
or  ribbon,  which  I  at  once  attached  to  my  dear  mother's 
double  cased  watch,  her  parting  gift.  It  must  have  been 
in  the  afternoon  that  the  sloop  set  sail,  for  before  sunset 
we  were  in  the  Tappan  Sea,  and  came  near  being  upset 
in  a  heavy  squall.  It  was  a  terribly  hot  day,  I  recollect, 
for  I  see,  even  now,  the  liquid  into  which  the  butter  was 
turned  on  the  tea  table. 

"Along  with  my  flute  I  had  bought  a  music  book  with 
some  preliminary  instructions  as  to  what  holes  were  to  be 
covered  to  produce  the  notes  called  for  by  the  signs  em 
ployed.  I  have  no  ear  for  music,  cannot  to  this  day  turn  a  tune, 
and  have  again  and  again  been  laughed  at  in  the  family  in 
my  attempts  to  do  so.  But  I  had  resolved  to  learn  to  play 
the  flute  and,  during  my  voyage  up  the  Hudson,  was  occu 
pied  unceasingly  in  attempting  to  master  the 'March'  in  Blue 
Beard.  And  I  succeeded,  too,  after  a  fashion;  and,  in 
later  days,  had  quite  a  repertoire  of  tunes  that  I  played 
sufficiently  well  to  accompany  my  brother,  who  had  a  fine 
voice. 

"It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  that  the  sloop 
approached  West  Point.  I  was  put  into  a  small  boat  and 
landed,  while  the  vessel  was  still  under  way,  at  Gee 's  Point, 
as  it  was  then  called,  by  being  pitched  ashore,  and  my  trunk 
pitched  after  me.  I  got  a  boy,  who  was  on  the  wharf,  to 
take  my  trunk,  and  made  my  way  up  the  road  under  the 


74  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

walls  of  Fort  Clinton,  and  was  directed  by  some  one  to 
'Grid's',  a  tavern  on  the  other  side  of  the  plain,  where  the 
hills  came  down  to  the  river  bank  almost,  leaving  a  narrow 
road  across  which  was  a  gate,  which  it  often  afterwards 
became  my  duty  to  guard  as  a  sentinel  with  a  musket  on 
my  shoulder.  At  Grid's  there  were  some  ten  or  a  dozen 
boys  awaiting  their  examination.  This  I  underwent  the 
next  morning,  wrote  a  sentence  from  dictation,  read  it 
aloud,  did  a  sum  in  the  rule  of  three,  another  in  decimals, 
and  was  then  declared  worthy  of  being  admitted  to  the 
Academy.  This  was  on  the  28th  September  1818,  when  I 
was  duly  recorded  as  being  fifteen  years  and  five  months 
by  the  Post  Adjutant.  I  was  a  lath  of  a  chap,  for  I  was 
as  tall  as  I  am  now,  or  nearly  so,  and  'called  off'  17th  or 
18th  from  the  right  of  the  first  company,  consisting  of  the 
tallest  boys  in  the  Academy.  I  remember  the  Adjutant 
looked  at  me  with  surprise  when  I  told  him  my  age  and  said 
something  about  my  looking  young  when  I  was  old,  for 
I  certainly  looked  old  when  I  was  young. 

"And  now  commenced  the  West  Point  period  of  my  life, 
successful  in  spite  of  all  the  drawbacks  of  my  schoolboy  expe 
riences.  I  presented  myself,  report  it  is  called,  the  day  after 
my  arrival  to  the  Superintendent,  with  a  letter  from  my 
father,  and  another,  I.  believe,  to  the  Professor  of  Mathemat 
ics,  and  was  most  kindly  received  by  both,  for  my  father's 
sake.  Major  Sylvanus  Thayer,  who,  as  I  write,  is  alive  and 
in  his  88th  year,  was  a  soldierly  looking  man,-  six  feet  high, 
straight  as  an  arrow.  He  was  one  of  the  most  dignified 
persons  I  have  ever  met,  without  the  smallest  pomposity 
of  manner,  yet  impressing  you  with  the  conviction  that  he 
was  the  last  person  in  the  world  to  take  a  liberty  with. 
His  manner  was  of  the  old  school,  his  language  carefully 
accurate,  and  his  enunciation  precise  without  being  formal. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  75 

Take  him  all  in  all,  he  was,  as  far  as  externals  went,  every 
inch  a  gentleman,  and  a  kinder  hearted  man  never  breathed. 
He  was  eminently  qualified  for  his  place.  He  dragged  up 
the  drowned  Academy  from  a  slough  and  placed  it  in  the 
position  in  which  I  found  it ;  and  year  after  year,  during  his 
superintendency,  the  work  of  improvement  went  on,  until 
the  institution  became  in  his  hands,  and  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  followed  him  in  office,  the  pride  of  the  country 
that  it  now  is. 

"The  Professor  of  Mathematics,  Mr.  Andrew  Ellicott 
(his  father  and  uncles  founded  the  town  of  Ellicott  Mills, 
Howard  County,  Md.),  had  been  engaged  in  many  impor 
tant  surveys  in  Government  employment,  and  carried  out 
the  plans  outlined  by  Major  L 'Enfant  for  laying  out  the 
City  of  Washington,  and  had  a  deserved  reputation  as  one 
of  the  best  mathematicians  of  the  day.  He  was,  in  1818, 
quite  an  old  man,  who  took  a  great  deal  of  snuff,  and  was 
not,  I  think,  as  active  in  his  habits  or  as  clear  in  his  eye 
sight  as  he  had  been.  He  was  very  regular  in  his  visits 
to  the  recitation  rooms  that  were  presided  over  by  his  assist 
ants,  and,  when  he  came  to  ours,  always  inquired  of  me 
when  I  had  heard  from  my  father,  questioned  me  as  to  my 
progress,  and  had  me  marked  'plus  three.'  I  am  quite 
willing  to  admit  that  it  was  the  liking  he  had  to  the  father, 
rather  than  any  proficiency  of  the  son,  that  caused  the 
highest  marks  for  the  day  to  be  given  to  the  latter.  We 
used  to  call  him  '  Old  Infinite  Series, '  and  yet  when  he  died 
and  was  buried  with  military  honors,  and  I  was  one  of  the 
escort  that  fired  over  his  grave,  I  felt  that  a  good  and  true 
man  had  passed  away,  and  that  I  had  lost  a  warm  and 
kind  hearted  friend. 

"In  these  days,  there  were  two  barracks,  the  North  and 
South.  I  was  quartered  with  two  brothers,  Campbell  and 


76  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Alfred  Graham,  in  the  latter.  When  our  cots  were  in 
place,  there  was  scarce  room  enough  for  our  table,  with  its 
three  chairs,  in  the  pigeon  hole  that  was  assigned  to  us. 
The  room  opened  upon  a  big  gallery  in  the  third  story  of 
the  building  facing  the  South.  Subsequently  I  lived  in  the 
North  Barracks,  the  rooms  in  which  are  much  larger  and 
opened  upon  a  hall  running  through  the  centre  of  the  build 
ing.  The  two  barracks  have  long  been  pulled  down.  When 
I  was  finally  appointed  assistant  teacher  of  drawing,  they 
gave  me  more  comfortable  quarters  and  ten  dollars  a  month 
extra. 

"I  do  not  remember  upon  what  principle  our  class  of  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  members  was  divided  into  four 
sections.  I  recollect,  however,  that  I  was  put  into  the 
first  section,  of  which  General  Trimble  and  myself  are 
now  the  only  survivors.  Our  recitation  room  was  next 
the  guard  room,  on  the  first  floor  of  the  North  Barracks. 
Here  on  a  rostrum  between  the  two  windows  sat  Assistant 
Professor  S.  Stanhope  Smith,  and  here,  with  the  first  volume 
of  Hutton's  Mathematics  in  hand,  I  began  my  West  Point 
education.  I  may  as  well  say  that  the  first  sifting,  in  June 
1819,  of  my  one  hundred  and  seventeen  comrades  of  the 
year  before,  reduced  the  number  to  fifty-nine,  the  next 
sifting  to  forty-eight,  and  that  the  number  that  got  through 
the  meshes  of  the  sieve  was  but  forty.  Of  the  others 
some  resigned,  some  were  'turned  back'  to  go  over  the  year's 
course  a  second  time,  and  some  were  found  to  be  deficient 
altogether.  These  last  were  called,  in  the  parlance  of  the 
cadets,  'Uncle  Sam's  bad  bargains.'  " 

Speaking  of  his  position  in  his  class,  he  says: 
"As  for  myself,  I  got  only  as  high  as  eighteenth  in  the 
fourth  class;  and  when  I  complained  to  the  Superintendent 
that  my  French  was  not  credited  to  me,  which  would  have 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  77 

made  me  sixteenth,  I  was  told,  in  the  Superintendent's 
courteous  way,  that,  after  all,  two  did  not  make  so  great  a 
difference  in  so  large  a  class;  that  if  I  had  been  one  of  the 
first  five,  for  example,  it  would  have  been  another  thing. 
The  next  year,  when  I  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the  five,  I  had 
the  same  cause  of  complaint,  and  I  have  sometimes  thought 
that  the  Superintendent's  remark  may  have  had  a  good 
effect;  for,  certainly  in  my  third  year,  I  had  no  cause  for 
complaint. 

"The  head  of  the  class,  the  third  year,  was  an  object 
that  more  than  one  of  us  was  striving  for,  and  when,  after 
supper,  as  we  stood  in  rank,  the  Adjutant  came  with  his 
papers  to  read  the  merits  to  us,  there  was  more  than  one 
anxious  heart  as  he  cried  out  'Those  whose  names  are  called, 
will  step  six  paces  to  the  front  and  close  to  the  right, '  and 
when  my  name  was  called,  I  felt  just  able  to  obey  the 
command  and  no  more.  Some  days  after  I  was  crossing 
the  plain  and  was  stopped  by  Major  Thaesses,  on  duty, 
who  said  the  Superintendent  wanted  to  see  me.  He  was 
walking  to  and  fro,  in  front  of  his  quarters,  in  his  usual 
blue  frock  coat  and  white  pantaloons,  when  I  approached 
him.  'So,  Cadet  Latrobe,'  he  said  with  a  pleasant  smile, 
'you  have  not  been  to  make  your  usual  complaint  to  me 
this  year.' 

"I  did  not  go  into  camp  this  year.  As  an  opulent  teacher 
I  was  exempted,  and  occupied  quarters  in  the  South  Bar 
racks.  I  soon  tired  of  my  dignified  idleness,  and  was 
oftener  in  among  the  tents  than  in  my  room.  Major  Worth, 
Commandant  of  Cadets,  was  then  getting  ready  for  the 
march  to  Boston,  and  offered  me,  if  I  would  waive  my 
privileges  as  teacher  of  drawing,  to  give  me  a  place  on  his 
staff  as  Topographical  Engineer  No.  2.  I  was  only  too  glad 
to  accept  his  offer,  and  accordingly  accompanied  the  Bat- 


78  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

talion,  going  to  Albany  in  a  steamboat,  and  then  marching 
to  Boston,  Providence,  New  London,  where  we  took  steamer 
again  to  New  York,  and  so  back  to  the  Point. 

"The  march  to  Boston  was  a  gala  time.  I  was  ap 
pointed  historiographer  by  the  Commandant,  and  elected 
by  my  companions  chairman  of  the  committee  that  was  to 
represent  them  on  public  occasions,  when  it  became  neces 
sary  to  reply  to  invitations  and  the  like.  The  first  class 
having  left,  I,  as  the  head  of  the  second,  was  No.  1  in  the 
institution,  and  had  my  full  share  of  attention  on  the  ex 
pedition.  Topographical  Engineer  No.  1,  Jonathan  Pres- 
cott,  was  rarely  in  camp,  so  that  I  had  a  handsome  mar 
quee  to  myself.  Ah!  these  were  happy  days,  happy,  happy 
days. 

"I  have  no  purpose  to  recall  the  events  of  the  march. 
Some  years  ago  my  old  friend,  Alfred  Mordecai,  gave  me 
a  copy  of  my  journal  of  the  march — you  will  find  it  among 
my  books.  I  look  on  its  pages  for  living  names.  Not  a 
half  dozen  of  that  merry  crowd  of  youthful  soldiers  now 
remain  on  earth.  Everywhere  the  greatest  attention  was 
paid  to  us.  Boston  was  hospitality  itself.  We  dined  in 
Fanueil  Hall,  when  as  the  head  of  the  classes,  I  sat  on  the 
left  hand  of  the  Major.  We  dined  at  Cambridge,  where 
I  sat  by  the  side  of  President  Kirkland.  Society  took  many 
of  us  into  its  gatherings.  My  mother  had  given  me  letters 
of  introduction  to  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  United  States 
Senator,  Richard  Duly,  Jonathan  Mason,  and  one  or  two 
persons  of  consideration,  and  I  was  made  much  of  by  them 
all.  But,  we  were  all  made  much  of. 

"An  incident  of  the  march  to  Boston  deserves  notice 
here.  I  have  told  it  again  and  again,  and  you  are  all 
familiar  with  it.  The  Corps  had  reached  Springfield.  The 
weather  was  intensely  hot,  and  Major  Worth,  determin- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  79 

ing  to  make  a  night  march,  sent  for  me  about  eight  o  'clock 
in  the  evening,  and  directed  me  to  proceed  at  once  and  make 
arrangements  some  thirteen  or  fifteen  miles  ahead  for 
breakfast  the  next  morning,  saying  that  he  would  commence 
his  march  at  ten  o'clock.  I  was  to  lose  no  time  and  to  go 
alone.  When  I  had  followed  the  orderly  to  the  Major's 
tent,  I  was  in  extreme  dishabille,  and  was  sent  back  with 
a  sharp  reprimand  and  ordered  to  appear  in  full  dress  to 
receive  the  commands  of  the  Commandant.  So  when  I  set 
out  on  my  march  I  was  in  the  uniform  I  would  have  worn 
at  dress  parade. 

"The  night  was  close,  muggy  is  the  word,  and  not  a  breath 
of  air  was  stirring.  There  were  no  clouds  and  the  stars  shone 
overhead;  but  they  wanted  their  usual  radiance  as  it  seemed 
to  me.  There  was  no  turnpike,  and  the  Boston  road  was 
sandy  and  at  times  sank  between  banks  that  long  travel 
and  the  rains  had  gradually  ruined  on  either  side.  In  a 
little  while,  the  mosquitoes  began  to  worry  me,  and  I  took 
the  long  black  plume  I  wore  out  of  its  socket,  turned  the 
lozenge  shaped  trap  plate  in  front  of  my  cylindrical  leather 
cap,  and  used  it  as  a  flapper.  I  then  ungirt  my  sword 
and  hung  it  around  my  neck  by  the  belt;  undid  my  heavy 
silk  sash,  and,  making  a  long  loop,  wore  it  across  my  shoul 
ders,  unbuttoning  my  coat,  the  collar  of  which  was  stran 
gling  me,  and  loosening  the  heavy  stock  that  formed  a  part 
)f  a  soldier's  uniform  in  those  days.  I  was  much  more 
comfortable  and  trudged  steadily  along,  wishing  all  the 
time  that  I  had  company,  and  feeling  in  my  very  marrow 
the  intense  silence  of  the  hour,  unbroken  even  by  the  fall 
of  my  foot  upon  the  sandy  road. 

"I  do  not  know  how  far  I  had  traveled,  when  I  saw  a 
light  in  the  window  of  a  small  house  on  the  left  of  the  road, 
and  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  from  it.  Crossing  the  stile 


80  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

and  following  a  path  that  led  to  the  door,  I  inquired  my 
way  and  the  distance  from  Springfield,  and  being  directed 
to  keep  always  to  the  left  hand  road,  I  returned  to  the 
stile  and  pursued  my  journey.  I  had  not  gone  far  when 
I  was  joined  by  a  man  who  came  from  a  cross  road,  as  it 
seemed,  and  of  whose  approach  I  was  not  aware  until 
he  spoke  to  me.  That  I  was  startled,  I  freely  admit.  He 
recognized  me  as  one  of  the  'boys  from  West  Point,'  and 
as  he  walked  along  he  entered  into  conversation  with  me, 
telling  me,  among  other  things,  of  a  fearful  murder  that 
had  been  committed,  but  a  short  time  before,  at  a  spot  on 
the  banks  of  the  Chicopee  that  we  were  approaching.  He 
might  have  chosen  a  more  agreeable  subject,  I  thought, 
and  with  no  expectation  of  trouble,  yet  with  an  uncomfort 
able  feeling,  I  rearranged  my  dress,  and  clasped  the  hilt 
of  my  sword  around  my  waist,  and  replaced  my  plume 
behind  the  lozenge  shaped  plate  of  my  cap.  By  this  time 
we  had  reached  the  bank  of  the  Chicopee,  lined  with  trees, 
between  whose  branches  I  could  see  the  water  with  the 
stars  reflected  there  but  a  few  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
road;  while,  on  the  opposite  side,  a  densely  wooded  hill 
arose  suddenly,  whose  trees,  closing  with  those  on  the  edge 
over  the  road,  made  it  as  dark  as  a  tunnel  almost.  My 
companion  then  went  on  to  tell  me  that  "the  murderer  had 
lain  in  wait  for  his  victim  where  an  opefling  in  the  foliage 
on  the  hill  side  enabled  him  to  see  hlsf^approach  slowly 
along  the  road,  on  horseback.  When  .he  had  a  clear  view, 
the  assassin  fired  and  the  other  man  fell  at  once.  Where 
upon  the  former,  taking  him  by  the  shoulders,  dragged 
him  into  the  wood  alongside  the  river,  and  there  'smashed' 
his  head  with  a  heavy  stone,  using  as  an  executioner's 
block  a  broad  flag,  which  my  informant  pointed  out  to  me 
and  on  which  he  assured  me  I  could  still  see  the  blood,  if 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  81 

I  looked  close  enough.  Some  unaccountable  impulse  in 
duced  me  to  bend  to  look  at  the  stone  between  the  trees, 
when  a  dark  object  fell  upon  it  and  I  started  back,  not 
knowing  but  that  my  head  was  to  be  smashed  also.  I 
charged  some  such  purpose  on  my  companion,  who  had 
sense  enough  to  remark  that  my  plume  it  was  that  had 
fallen  on  the  stone.  In  attempting  to  replace  it,  I  had 
missed  the  socket,  and  left  it  between  the  trap  plate  and 
the  cap,  where  it  had  fallen  when  I  stooped  over  the  stone. 
The  fact  is  I  was  just  about  as  nervous  on  this  particular 
night  as  I  ever  was  for  so  long  a  time  in  my  life,  and  was 
rejoiced  when,  emerging  from  the  tunnel-like  roadway,  I 
found  the  early  dawn  at  hand  in  the  pale  gray  of  the  east 
ern  horizon.  In  telling  this  story  since  I  have  no  doubt 
somewhat  dramatized  it,  but  the  essential  features  of  it 
were  as  here  set  down,  and  as  late  as  1869,  when  traveling 
in  the  cars  from  Springfield  to  New  York  or  Boston,  I 
forget  which,  I  recognized  the  road  when  it  descended  to  the 
Chicopee,  the  scene  of  my  adventure  in  1821,  nearly  half 
a  century  before;  there  were  two  gentlemen,  of  my  own 
age  apparently,  in  the  car,  with  whom  I  had  been  convers 
ing,  and  the ;  locality  suggesting  my  old  experience,  I  re 
lated  it.  They  both  recollected  the  murder,  and  gave  me 
all  the  particulars,  verifying  my  accounj  in  the  main.  They 
named  all  the  parties,  and  said  that  two  men  were  engaged  in 
the  deed,  one  of  ^^P)  I  think  they  said,  had  been  caught, 
tried  and  hung. 

"I  had  a  narrow  escape  from  death  or  mutilation  while 
at  West  Point.  The  battery  of  four  old  iron  six  pounders 
was  manned  to  fire  a  salute  on  the  occasion,  I  think,  of 
General  Brown  visiting  the  Academy.  I  was  No.  1,  who 
sponged  and  loaded  at  Number  One  of  the  battery.  The 
Captain  of  the  gun  was  Andrew  Jackson  Donaldson,  after- 


82  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

wards  a  prominent  public  man,  and  one  of  the  handsomest 
of  the  Cadets.  No.  2,  whose  duty  it  was  to  put  the  car 
tridge  into  the  piece  after  it  had  been  sponged,  was  John 
C.  Holland,  another  handsome  fellow,  from  South  Carolina. 
A  reckless  dare  devil,  named  Eager  Craig,  tended  vent, 
or  held  his  thumb  on  the  '  touch  hole, '  while  the  gun  was 
being  sponged  and  loaded.  One  or  two  rounds  had  been 
fired,  when  Holland,  as  I  stepped  up  to  sponge,  thrust  the 
cartridge  into  the  muzzle.  Of  course,  I  shouted  to  him 
to  take  it  out  until  I  had  sponged,  but  he  heeded  not. 
I  yelled  at  the  top  of  my  voice,  but  he  took  no  notice. 
Number  2  had  fired,  Number  3  had  fired,  in  a  second 
Number  4  would  fire,  and  Number  1  was  not  loaded.  Don 
aldson  shouted  to  make  haste,  and  Craig,  who  understood 
the  difficulty,  shouted  too;  so  I  just  rammed  the  cartridge 
in  with  the  wet  sponge  and  stepped  back  behind  the  wheel. 
I  had  not  reached  my  place  there,  when  the  gun  went 
off.  To  this  day  I  have  always  said  and  believed  that 
the  cartridge  was  fired  not  by  the  tube  and  port  fire  used 
in  these  times,  but  by  the  fire  remaining  in  the  chamber. 
It  was  the  first  and  last  time  I  ever  rammed  a  cartridge 
in  with  a  sponge,  and  I  advise  no  one  to  make  the  attempt. 
In  my  life  I  have  had  more  escapes  from  peril  than  one — 
none  narrower  than  this. 

"Looking  back  at  my  West  Point  career,  I  am  afraid 
I  cannot  say  that  I  was  a  saint  there.  I  was  fond  of  fun, 
and  took  my  share  of  the  risks  of  being  found  out.  Luckily 
for  me,  perhaps,  there  were  then  no  demerit  marks.  Punish 
ment  consisted  in  extra  hours  of  guard  duty,  or  in  having 
to  go  upon  the  police  squad  and  sweep  the  barrack  yards 
on  Saturday  afternoon.  The  account  was  settled  in  this 
way  on  the  spot,  instead  of  a  balance  being  allowed  to 
accumulate  to  tell  at  the  end  of  the  four  years,  in  regulat 
ing  one's  standing  for  the  army. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  83 

"An  event  of  my  West  Point  life  was  a  visit  which  my 
father  paid  me,  bringing  with  him  my  brother  Ben.  They 
remained  a  day  or  two,  during  which  my  father,  with  his 
wonderful  conversational  powers,  popularized  himself  with 
the  Professors  and  those  of  my  friends  who  were  introduced 
to  him. 

"It  was  in  the  fall  of  1820  that  my  father  died.  After 
the  death  of  my  eldest  brother  there  had  been  no  one  to 
take  his  place,  and  being  detained  no  longer  by  his  employ 
ment  at  Washington,  while  I  was  at  West  Point,  had  gone 
to  New  Orleans  to  attend  to  his  interest  there.  He  had 
survived  a  yellow  fever  season,  during  which  he  had  had 
the  disease,  and,  fancying  himself  fever  proof,  had  taken 
my  mother,  brother  and  sister  there,  intending  to  remain 
until  the  water  works  were  completed.  The  year  1820  was 
a  year  of  great  fatality,  and  among  other  and  numerous 
victims  was  my  father,  who  was  carried  off  in  the  month  of 
September  of  that  year.  As  soon  as  possible  my  mother, 
with  Ben  and  Julia,  returned  to  Baltimore  and  took 
a  house  in  Lexington  Street,  on  the  South  side,  not  far 
from  Pine.  With  my  father  died,  however,  forever  all 
prospects  of  realizing  a  dollar  from  the  New  Orleans 
contract,  and  the  family  was  once  more  reduced  to  very 
narrow  straits  indeed.  Some  small  sum  that  had  been 
realized  in  New  Orleans,  my  father's  library,  and  some 
woodland  that  my  mother  had  in  New  Jersey,  were  all  she 
had  to  live  upon. 

"  This  created  a  change  in  my  future.  A  good  deal  of  cor 
respondence  took  place,  and  ultimately  it  was  determined, 
on  the  advice  of  my  father's  dear  friend,  General  Harper, 
that  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  resign,  enter  his  office  as 
a  student  of  law,  and  look  forward  to  taking  charge  of  the 
family  and  attempting  its  support  by  the  time  the  means 


84  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

of  my  mother  were  exhausted.  As  soon  as  this  was  deter 
mined  on,  it  was  carried  into  effect.  I  resigned  my  cadet- 
ship,  and  came  to  Baltimore  in  the  middle  of  my  last  year, 
in  December  or  January  1821-22.  I  have  often  thought 
since  that  this  was  a  mistake,  that  I  should  have  remained 
until  the  end  of  my  term,  for  my  failure  to  do  so  has  ever 
since  imposed  on  me  the  necessity  of  a  long  explanation,  when 
asked  when  I  graduated.  While  I  remained  at  the  Academy 
in  my  fourth  year,  I  fully  maintained  my  position  at  the 
head  of  the  class,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  I  would  have 
maintained  it  to  the  end.  But  then  again,  once  actually 
in  the  army,  with  my  strong  predilections  for  the  calling, 
it  is  not  impossible  I  might  have  continued  there,  when  it 
was  clearly  my  duty  to  take  my  father 's  place  and  be  at  the 
head  of  the  household.  So,  with  regrets,  of  course,  but 
willingly  at  the  same  time,  I  sent  in  my  resignation,  bade 
my  dear  old  comrades  '  Good-bye, '  and,  falling  out  of  the 
ranks  of  the  military,  fell  in  among  the  civilians.  I  believe 
that  my  resignation  was  regretted  by  my  dear  old  master, 
Major  Thayer,  who,  belonging  to  the  engineer  corps,  had 
a  notion  that  I  was  fitted  for  that  division  of  the  army. 
Another  friend  of  mine  was  Colonel  Mansfield,  Professor 
of  Natural  Philosophy.  It  was  he  who  suggested  and 
wrote  the  certificate  that  you  have,  and  which  has  stood  me 
in  good  stead  more  than  once  since,  in  place  of  a  certificate 
of  graduation. 

"And  so  the  curtain  falls  upon  the  happiest  portion  of 
my  life  perhaps — at  all  events  the  portion  least  charged 
with  cares.  It  is  now  more  than  half  a  century  that  I  ceased 
to  be  a  cadet,  that  I  doffed  forever  the  gray  coat  and  its 
bullet  buttons;  and  yet  my  memories  of  my  West  Point 
days  and  of  my  comrades  there  are  all  of  them  as  distinct 
as  the  events  of  yesterday,  and  fondly  cherished  by  a  heart 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  85 

as  warm  as  that  which  beat  in  any  bosom,  when,  after  the 
announcement  of  my  standing  at  the  head  of  the  class 
already  referred  to,  I  ran  and  walked  and  jumped  and  hol 
lered  in  my  excitement,  as  I  went  to  my  supper  at  the  Miss 
Thompsons,  prouder  and  happier  than  any  monarch  upon 
earth.  In  my  old  desk  at  Fairy  Knowe  are  the  mementoes 
of  sacred  things  in  my  life,  and  more  than  one  of  them  have 
a  West  Point  history. 

"I  went  to  West  Point  when  I  was  fifteen  years  and 
five  months;  I  left  it  when  I  was  eighteen  and  eight 
months. 

"My  father  had  always  been  a  favorite  in  society.  As 
stated  more  than  once  already,  he  had  great  conversational 
powers,  was  a  capital  story  teller,  and  had  a  genial  manner 
that  was  peculiarly  his  own.  Of  my  mother's  accomplish 
ments  I  have  already  spoken,  but  my  mother  was  a  widow 
now,  living  on  scanty  means,  and  in  a  very  modest  way. 
True,  the  furniture  had  been  brought  back  from  New  Orleans, 
and  that  which  had  been  left  in  storage  in  Baltimore 
enabled  her  to  give  to  our  house  in  Lexington  Street, 
above  Pine,  a  more  presentable  appearance.  But  things 
were  not  as  they  used  to  be.  Economy  was  the  order  of  the 
day,  and  happily  my  mother  had  a  prudence  and  a  judg 
ment  that  made  money  go  a  great  way,  while  there  was  no 
appearance  of  niggardliness.  Still  my  father 's  death  changed 
many  of  the  habits  of  the  family.  I  shall  not  dwell  on  this 
point  again." 

During  his  stay  at  West  Point  he  would  visit,  at  different 
times,  his  grandfather,  Isaac  Hazlehurst,  at  his  home  near 
Philadelphia.  He  visited  also  his  father  in  Baltimore  in 
1819. 

The  family,  however,  moved  from  Baltimore  to  New 
Orleans;  starting  in  the  early  part  of  1820,  they  traveled 


86  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

by  wagon  to  Wheeling,  where  they  took  a  boat  to  New 
Orleans,  arriving  there  six  weeks  after  leaving  Wheeling. 
His  sister,  Julia,  writes  giving  an  account  of  this  trip  down 
the  Mississippi.  Most  of  her  letters  have  been  lost,  but 
I  have  in  my  possession  one  letter  written  from  St.  Frances- 
ville,  La.,  150  miles  above  New  Orleans,  April  1,  1820. 
Speaking  of  the  boat  she  says: 

"We  had  gone  over  the  Falls  immediately,  and  were 
lying  at  Shippenfort,  two  miles  below  Louisville.  I  believe 
I  gave  you  some  account  of  the  latter  place  in  a  letter  from 
there.  I  was  less  pleased  with  it  than  any  town  we  had 
been  at.  We  were  entertained  very  handsomely  by  those 

to  whom  we  brought  letters After  going  on 

at  the  rate  of  250  miles  in  twenty-four  hours,  we  got  to 
Shawnee,  the  first  place  of  importance,  on  Sunday  at  four 
o'clock.  There  we  went  ashore  out  of  curiosity.  The 
town  was  very  flat;  and  is  entirely  of  log  and  wood.  Only 
one  brick  house  in  the  place,  which  is  the  Bank  of  Illinois, 
one  of  the  best  banks  in  the  United  States.  Being  Sunday 
the  natives  bore  down  upon  us,  and  soon  each  one  had  a 
sight  of  the  boat.  We  got  off  about  seven  o'clock  and 
passed  two  of  the  most  singular  sights  on  the  Ohio,  the 
'Battery  Rock,'  which  is  a  high  bluff  with  a  bare  perpen 
dicular  front  of  solid  rock  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length, 
and  the  'Cave  in  the  Rock,'  but  though  the  moon  was 
bright,  it  did  not  shine  so  as  to  allow  us  to  see  either  of 
these  places  to  advantage.  On  Tuesday  night  at  1 1  o  'clock 
we  entered  the  Mississippi,  '  the  Father  of  Waters. '  The 
moon  was  as  bright  almost  as  day,  and  showed  us  the  great 
river  to  the  utmost  advantage.  How  often  have  I  wished 
for  you,  my  dearest  brother,  in  this  journey,  which,  were 
it  not  for  Pa's  business  being  so  pressing  ....  for 
we  have  plenty  of  time  allowed  to  look  about.  We  have 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  87 

the  most  sneaking,  pitiable,  smooth-tongued,  softly  money- 
making,  scrapping,  illiterate  fellow  for  a  captain  that  you 
can  imagine,  who  almost  starves  us.  For  the  last  week  we 
have  had  nothing  for  dinner  but  salt  beef  and  pork  and  grey 
beans,  with  the  addition  of  two  stinking  turkeys  weighing 
about  thirty  pounds.  Every  day  as  we  proceeded  the  woods 
became  greener  and  more  beautiful,  and  the  shore  is  very 
uniform  and  flat,  yet  the  grouping  is  always  varied  and 
makes  it  more  interesting  than  I  supposed. 

"We  had  to  stop  and  wood  almost  every  day.  This  is 
a  great  thing  for  the  country  people,  for,  as  they  clear  away 
the  land  for  their  fields,  they  cut  the  wood  and  pile  it  along 
the  banks,  where  it  is  in  constant  demand  for  the  steam 
boats. 

"Where  we  stopped,  we  went  into  some  of  the  houses  of 
the  settlers.  At  one  place  where  the  people  had  been  only 
a  year,  they  had  a  bedstead,  table  and  chairs  made  without 
a  single  nail.  Stools  with  a  back  put  to  them.  Every 
year  they  do  better.  We  went  to  one  place  which  had  been 
settled  nine  years.  Every  place  was  as  clean  as  a  pin. 
The  house  was  log  and  the  bare  joists  showed.  The  room 
was  hung  after  the  manner  of  the  olden  time,  but  not  with 
tapestry,  but  with  shirts,  socks,  etc.,  all  made  by  the  mis 
tress  of  the  house.  There  are  no  towns  of  importance  after 
you  pass  New  Madrid  on  the  Mississippi,  until  you  reach 
Natchez.  We  were  five  days  and  a  half  from  Shippenfort 
to  Natchez,  700  miles,  going  all  the  time,  but  we  had  to 
stop  twice  to  make  wedges,  having  lost  ours.  This  delayed 
us  a  day  altogether.  On  Friday  at  noon  we  reached  Nat 
chez,  which  is  built  upon  a  very  high  bluff.  You  do  not 
see  the  City  from  the  River,  as  it  is  built  upon  the  top  of 
the  hill  and  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  are  a  good  many  grog 
shops  and  billiard  houses,  and  this  place  really  seems  the 


88  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

sink  of  iniquity.  ....  We  have  seen  sixteen  steam 
boats  going  up  and  down  since  we  left  Wheeling.  Imagine 
the  business  of  this  part  of  the  world. " 

I  insert  here  a  letter  from  B.  H.  Latrobe  to  his  son. 

"May  4th,  1819,  New  Orleans. 
"My  dear  Son: 

"At  the  table  at  which  I  am  sitting  to  write  to  you, 
and  to  congratulate  myself  on  occasion  of  his  birthday 
that  I  have  such  a  son  as  you,  I  presume  that  my  head  is 
at  least  four  feet  below  the  present  level  of  the  water  in 
the  Mississippi,  while  yours  is  raised  two  or  three  hundred 
feet  above  the  tide.  You  will  please  to  observe  that  I  am 
congratulating  myself  in  the  first  instance,  but  I  also  most 
sincerely  congratulate  you  that  you  are  now  sixteen  and 
have  hitherto  given  nothing  but  pleasure  and  satisfaction 
to  your  parents,  and  can,  I  truly  believe,  look  into  your  own 
heart  without  remorse,  or  even  regret,  for  any  serious  fault. 
May  God  preserve  you,  my  dear  boy,  what  you  now  are, 
an  honest,  upright  and  generous  being,  conscious  of  the 
errors  of  his  own  heart  and  head,  and  indulgent  to  those 
of  his  fellow  beings,  never  looking  for  his  own  gratifications 
in  the  injury  done  to  others,  but  always  making  self  sub 
ordinate  to  humanity,  to  friendship  and  to  justice.  I  was 
going  to  say,  remember  that  you  are  now,  or  soon  will  be, 
the  head  of  a  family  of  a  name  which  has  not  hither  been 
disgraced  by  any  individual  belonging  to  it;  but  it  is  un 
necessary.  The  son  of  such  a  mother,  and  the  brother 
of  Henry  Latrobe,  requires  no  lecture,  especially  not  on 
his  birthday. 

"Your  mother  and  sister  keep  you  no  doubt  aufait  of  all  my 
proceedings.  I  have  perfectly  succeeded  as  far  as  the  specu 
lation  of  my  very  good  friend  Grafaber  would  let  me,  that 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  89 

is,  to  one-fourth  of  the  whole  project.  The  water  will  flow 
in  the  streets  this  year  yet,  and  next  winter  I  must  persuade 
your  mother  to  accompany  me  hither  with  Julia.  This  is 
a  strange  country.  The  inhabitants  live  along  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  in  front  of  which  is  the  Mississippi,  behind 
marsh,  swamp  and  lake,  so  that  the  only  possible  ride  or 
walk  is  along  the  river  bank.  But  the  air  is  soft  and  mild 
and  I  believe  as  wholesome  as  any  other  air  of  a  hot  climate. 
I  never  was  better  in  my  life  than  since  I  have  been  here. 
Now,  as  you  are  an  incipient  philosopher,  I  wish  you,  with 
the  aid  of  your  brother  mousquetaires,  to  attack  this  problem. 

"The  Susquehannah  and  the  river  Allegheny  rise  nearly 
at  the  same  height  in  the  Allegheny  mountains.  The 
Allegheny  is  about  the  same  length  from  the  source  to 
Pittsburgh  that  the  Susquehannah  has  to  Columbia.  Columbia 
is  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  feet  above  the  tide.  The 
two  rivers  have  the  same  rapidity  so  far.  I  think  the  Alle 
gheny  the  more  rapid.  You  have  seen  it  at  Pittsburgh. 

"Now  from  Columbia  to  the  tide  the  Susquehannah  has 
128  feet  fall  in  41  miles.  From  Pittsburgh  the  Ohio 
runs  2500  miles  to  New  Orleans,  below  which  place  the 
Mississippi  falls  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  We  will  suppose 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  level,  but  as  soon  as  you  get  into  the 
straits  of  Florida,  the  Gulf  stream  runs  to  the  northeast 
at  the  rate  of  from  two  to  five  miles  in  an  hour.  Opposite 
to  the  Capes  of  Virginia  the  two  streams  meet — that  is  the 
Susquehannah  (for  the  Chesapeake  is  the  Susquehannah)  and 
the  stream  composed  of  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
Gulf  stream.  In  the  first  case  you  have  a  rapid  falling  from 
Columbia  128  feet  to  the  tide  (which  we  may  suppose  on 
a  level  with  the  water  of  the  Capes)  in  41  miles,  that  is 
about  three  feet  in  a  mile;  in  the  other  you  have  a  continued 
current  of  5,000  miles,  and  a  very  rapid  one.  If  this  latter 


90  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

one  falls  only  one  inch  in  a  mile  it  would  fall  416  feet,  and 
be,  of  course,  at  their  meeting  288  feet  below  the  tide  of 
the  Susquehannah.  As  you  have  no  theological  dogmas 
(the  disgrace  and  the  misfortune  of  Mankind)  to  discuss 
at  West  Point,  here  is  a  subject  for  you,  in  which  my  old 
friend  Mr.  Ellicott  may  be  puzzled,  if  anything  can  puzzle 
him. 

"Your  mother  was  so  good  as  to  send  me  by  the 
.  .  .  .  all  of  your  letters  which  gave  me  great  pleas 
ure  and  ....  but  nothing  more  so  than  to  find  that 
the  time  has  arrived  in  which  your  pride  in  your  sister  Julia 
would  rival  your  affection  for  her.  I  also  received  letters 
from  her  and  from  Ben.  Ben  is  a  clever  little  fellow.  To  my 
astonishment  he  informed  me  that  he  had  been  under  the 
necessity  of  giving  a  good  thrashing  to  a  certain  telltale, 
Harris. 

"I  am  glad  that  you  have  seriously  taken  to  the  study 
of  history.  Gibbon's  work  will  explain  my  motives  for 
detesting  dogmatic  theology.  But  all  history  is  a  thing  of 
misrepresentations  or  absolute  falsehood,  excepting  in 
respect  to  great  leading  facts  and  events.  Nothing  how 
ever,  is  so  necessary  to  be  known  by  a  gentleman.  Other 
wise,  a  man  may  be  apt  to  act  one  of  the  characters  of  your 
sporting  clerk  on  the  stage  of  real  life. 

"  God  help  you,  my  dear  son.  Go  on  as  you  have  done 
hitherto,  stick  to  the  truth  as  you  have  done,  at  all  hazards. 
'Vitam  impendere  vero'  be  your  motto,  and  you  will  seldom 
go  wrong,  and  always  do  unto  others  as  you  would  they 
should  do  unto  you.  You  see  how  old  Daddies  will  preach. 
Your  truly  affectionate  father  and  friend, 

(signed)     B.  Henry  Latrobe. 

It  is  of  this  letter  that  Chief  Justice  E.  D.  White  of  the 
Supreme  Court  writes.  "It  was  very  kind  of  you  to  think 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  91 

of  me  and  send  me  the  interesting  letter  of  Mr.  Latrobe.  I 
could  not  help  thinking  how  demonstrative  it  was  of  the 
high  character  of  men  of  that  day." 

Further  references  to  West  Point  life  appear  in  Mr. 
Latrobe 's  journals  at  various  times.  Regarding  the  trip 
from  West  Point  to  Boston  and  his  election  as  historian  he 
says: 

"In  this  way  I  became  the  historian  of  the  march  to 
Boston,  as  it  is  printed.  In  the  Proceedings  of  the  Alumni 
of  1885  will  be  found  a  letter  to  my  family  giving  an  account 
of  the  march  of  the  corps  up  the  Hudson  in  1819. " 

Of  Worth  he  says: 

"It  is  to  Worth,  in  great  measure,  that  the  cadets  of 
today  are  indebted  for  their  soldierly  characteristics,  and 
yet  Worth  was  not  a  West  Point  man,  but  he  was  instinc 
tively  a  soldier.  He  served  with  distinction  in  the  Seminole 
and  Mexican  wars.  Died  1849." 

When  Mr.  Latrobe  handed  in  his  resignation  from  West 
Point  in  December  1821  he  was  the  only  member  of  his 
family  capable  of  working  for  a  living.  His  brother  Ben 
jamin  was  too  young;  and  he  himself,  as  he  says,  was  only 
eighteen  years  and  eight  months.  It  was  always  a  matter 
of  deep  regret  to  him  that  he  had  not  stayed  at  West  Point 
until  the  end  of  the  term,  when  he  would  have  graduated. 
At  the  time  he  did  not  appreciate  the  fact  that  his  resig 
nation  might  be  attributed  not  to  its  true  cause,  but  to 
his  inability  to  graduate.  It  did  not  occur  to  him  that 
he  would  be  considered  one  of  Uncle  Sam's  "bad  bargains," 
as  he  terms  them,  and,  in  order  to  remove  any  such  impres 
sion,  he  had  printed  what  he  called  his  "West  Point  Memo 
randa,"  dated  July  16,  1874. 

"It  is  now  more  than  half  a  century,  since,  in  December 
1821,  I  resigned  my  cadetship  at  West  Point.  I  was  then 


92  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

at  the  head  of  the  first  class,  in  the  middle  of  my  last  year's 
course;  and  there  was  no  reason  to  believe  that  I  would 
not  retain  my  position  until  I  graduated  in  the  following 
June.  But  my  father  had  died  in  New  Orleans  in  Sep 
tember  1820,  and  my  mother  had  returned  to  Baltimore  in 
circumstances  that  seemed  to  make  it  my  duty  to  attempt, 
at  least,  to  do  something  more  for  the  support  of  the  family 
than  I  could  reasonably  expect  to  accomplish  by  remaining 
in  the  army.  Hence  my  resignation,  and  my  entrance,  as  a 
student  of  law,  into  the  office  of  my  father 's  friend  the  late 
General  Robert  Goodloe  Harper.  This  was  in  January, 
1822. 

"So  far  as  regarded  the  time  of  resigning,  I  here  made  a 
mistake,  which  has  been  an  occasional  mortification  to  me 
through  life.  Had  I  remained  at  West  Point  only  five 
months  longer,  I  would  have  graduated  with  my  class;  and 
afterwards,  could  still  have  left  the  army  and  pursued  my 
professional  career. " 

While  it  is  true  that  Mr.  Latrobe  did  not  graduate,  he 
received  what  is  equivalent  to  it,  a  certificate  signed  by  the 
Academic  Staff  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point, 
November  21,  1821,  which  certificate  says,  among  other 
things,  that  at  the  first  examination  he  obtained  the  first 
honors  and  the  first  standing  in  a  very  numerous  class  of 
his  fellow-students. 

The  following  letter  from  General  S.  Thayer,  who  was 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Academy  at  the  time  Mr.  Latrobe 
was  a  student  in  1821,  was  written  January  23,  1864: 

"Forty-two  years  have  not  effaced  from  my  memory 
the  regret  and  disappointment  I  felt  when,  near  the  close 
of  1821,  your  resignation  was  handed  to  me,  for  I  had 
counted  on  you  as  a  future  officer  of  Engineers.  You  were 
then  at  the  head  of  your  class  and  without  a  rival. " 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  93 

That  he  was  not  a  brave  soldier  at  this  time  is  admitted 
by  a  story  told  by  him  in  which  he  says : 

"One  Saturday  afternoon  Sam  Hobert  and  I  had  got  to 
the  summit  of  Crows '  Nest  almost,  when  I  saw  on  a  broad 
flat  rock  on  which  I  was  about  to  step,  a  handsome  brown 
stick,  which  I  at  once  determined  to  substitute  for  the 
rough  affair  that  had  helped  me  up  the  mountains,  when, 
horror  of  horrors,  the  stick  moved  and  the  nicely  tapered 
end  that  I  had  intended  for  the  ferrule  began  to  rattle  in 
a  way  that  I  can  still  fancy  that  I  hear.  It  was  a  rattle 
snake,  lying  lazily  at  full  length  in  the  October  sun,  that 
I  was  about  to  take  hold  of.  Of  course,  we  should  have 
quickly  walked  out  of  the  snake's  way,  or  have  taken  a 
stone  and  killed  it,  but  boys  of  fifteen  do  not  think  of  every 
thing,  and  on  the  occasion  Hobert  and  I  only  thought  of 
getting  back  as  fast  as  we  could  to  where  we  came  from; 
and,  in  a  panic  that  almost  passes  belief,  we  made  a'beeline' 
for  the  flag  staff  on  the  plain.  I  still  remember  our  frantic 
race.  I  remember  dashing  past  the  ruins  of  the  huts  of 
the  German  soldiers  of  the  revolution,  flying  over  the  flats, 
and  not  stopping  until  we  reached  the  public  road.  Re 
membering  this,  I  could  perfectly  understand  the  flight,  in 
a  panic,  from  Bull  Run  in  1861." 

"  On  another  occasion,  in  referring  to  a  very  severe  storm, 
he  says: 

"Perhaps  my  memory  of  this  particular  storm  is  quick 
ened  by  the  well  remembered  fact  that  I  thought,  in  no 
impeachment  of  my  valor,  to  reverse  my  musket  and,  stick 
ing  the  bayonet  in  the  ground,  keep  at  a  respectful  distance. 
This  was  but  for  a  moment,  however,  for,  looking  toward 
the  guard  tent,  I  saw  my  class  mate  Silas  B.  Fillebrown,  two 
inches  taller  than  myself,  walking  there  with  his  musket 
at  a  'support,'  when  for  very  shame  I  resumed  my  own." 


94  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

Among  other  books  belonging  to  Mr.  Latrobe  is  a  "  Com 
monplace  Book,"  endorsed  "Manuscript,  John  H.  B.  La 
trobe,  Cadet,  United  States  Military  Academy.  January 
19,  1819."  On  the  fly  leaf  is  the  following: 

"In  the  course  of  a  man's  life  we  can  often  trace  his 
character  in  the  productions  of  his  pen  at  the  different 
periods  in  which  they  were  written.  At  some  future  day 
to  be  able  to  see  how  my  own  character  was  formed,  induces 
me  to  commence  this  book." 

The  first  article  in  the  book,  dated  January  19,  1819, 
is  a  composition  in  which  he  says,  speaking  of  the  decline 
of  manhood: 

"Let  us  consult  the  page  of  history  and  it  will  inform  us 
that  it  was  owing  to  the  introduction  of  luxury,  whose 
baneful  influence  enervated  the  minds  of  their  inhabitants. " 

To  luxury  he  attributes  all  decay  in  manhood  and  char 
acter. 

This  is  probably  the  first  production  of  his  pen  and  he 
takes  Goldsmith  as  his  text: 

111  fares  the  land  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
Where  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay. 

Among  other  articles  he  has  the  "Robber's  Castle," 
translated  from  the  German. 

A  great  deal  of  the  book  is  taken  up  with  verses,  some  of 
which  are  composed  by  himself  and  some  by  his  father. 
Some  are  copied  from  other  authors. 

There  is  a  poem  to  Miss  O'Connor  by  himself,  written 
October  21,  1821.  This  seems  to  have  been  written  to 
a  young  lady  whom  he  met  at  Boston,  for  in  the  corre 
spondence  between  himself  and  Wm.  Otis,  [whom  he  met  in 
Boston,  it  would  appear  that  he  had  made  quite  a  sensation 
among  the  belles  of  Boston,  and  Otis  speaks  of  the  different 
poems  which  he  had  written  to  the  different  girls. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  95 

To    M     -     -     -     O. 

Ne  'er  tell  me  the  diamond  allures  by  its  splendor, 

Though  set  in  tiaras  of  gold, 
It  wants  all  that 's  soft,  all  that 's  lovely  and  tender, 

It  dazzles,  but  still  it  is  cold. 
Of  the  brilliants  which  wealth  may  have  purchased  a  queen, 

None  shine  with  such  glory  upon  her 
As  the  rosebud  which  blooms  'mid  its  foliage  of  green, 

And  is  wreathed  o  'er  the  brow  of  O  'Connor. 

Tho '  turned  in  rich  circles  o  'er  ebony  hair, 

The  pearl  lends  its  aid  to  adorn, 
Tho '  the  gems  of  the  coronet  blaze  on  the  fair, 

Eclipsing  the  brightness  of  morn, 
The  diamond  and  pearl  are  unheeded,  unseen, 

We  mind  not  the  pageants  of  honor, 
When  compared  with  the  rose  'mid  its  foliage  of  green, 

Which  is  wreathed  o'er  the  brow  of  O'Connor. 

Lines  written  on  leaving  West  Point  forever. 
December  1821. 

Farewell,  the  friends  I  leave  behind, 
The  good,  the  generous  and  the  kind, 

Farewell,  I  fear  forever. 
Affection's  bond,  tho',  still  endures, 
My  heart,  while  beating,  still  is  yours, 

And  Oh!  forget  me  never. 

In  sorrow's  hour,  mid  beauty's  wiles, 
To  merit  still  your  care,  your  smiles, 

Shall  be  my  first  endeavor. 
Then  think  of  him  who,  far  away, 
Has  known  and  loved  yet  many  a  day, 

And  Oh!  forget  him  never. 

J.  Latrobe. 


CHAPTER  IV 

RETURN  TO  BALTIMORE,  1821 — STUDY  or  LAW  IN  THE 
OFFICE  OF  GENERAL  HARPER 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
Latrobe,  the  Government  lost  a  most  efficient  and  capable 
officer;  but  the  Government's  gain  would  have  been  un 
questionably  a  loss  to  the  country,  and  especially  to  his 
native  city  Baltimore,  where,  as  is  shown  in  his  sub 
sequent  career,  he  took  an  active  part  in  every  matter  which 
could  lead  to  its  improvement  and  progress. 

We  have  considered  Mr.  Latrobe's  life  up  to  the  period 
of  his  leaving  West  Point  and  entering  Mr.  Robert  Goodloe 
Harper's  office  December  20,  1821.  Mr.  Latrobe  was 
eighteen  years  and  six  months  old,  when  he  entered  the 
arena  to  attain  success  in  the  profession  which  he  had  chosen 
for  his  life  work.  It  was  customary  in  the  old  days  of 
chivalry,  upon  a  knight  entering  the  lists,  for  a  herald  to 
give  some  account  of  him,  so  that  the  champion  who  was 
about  to  break  a  lance  might  be  known.  In  these  days, 
when  photography  is  used  to  such  an  extent  that  children 
are  represented  almost  from  the  day  they  were  born  and 
during  the  different  periods  of  life  until  the  end,  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  getting  a  picture  of  the  subject;  but  at  the 
period  of  which  I  speak — 1821 — there  was  nothing  of  this 
kind,  and  I  am  not  in  possession  of  any  picture  or  description 
of  Mr.  Latrobe  which  would  enable  me  to  give  an  idea  of 
the  man,  except  from  a  very  meagre  account  of  himself. 

He  has  already  stated  that  when  he  went  to  West  Point  in 

96 


A  SILHOUETTE  OF  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 
By  himself,  with  the  note  "John  H.  B.  L.  before  he  went  to  West  Point" 

PENCIL  SKETCH  OF  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 
By  himself,  with  the  note  "Attempt  at  myself  when  a  Cadet,  by  myself" 


kd.a.H  - 


'  -ii 

.• 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  97 

1818  he  was  an  overgrown  boy,  six  feet  tall  and  awkward; 
but  he  says  that  this  awkwardness  was  of  value  to  him, 
in  that,  as  one  of  the  tallest  men  in  the  corps  of  cadets,  he 
occupied  the  front  rank.  We  can  assume  therefore  that 
Mr.  Latrobe  at  eighteen  was  a  man  of  something  over  six 
feet  in  height  and  of  rather  a  commanding  presence.  Appar 
ently  he  was  strong  physically,  and  from  the  certificate  of 
the  teachers  he  was  mentally  well  equipped  for  the  battle. 
From  his  ancestors  he  had  the  right  to  a  strong  physique. 
Going  back  we  find  that  his  grandfather,  the  Rev.  Benjamin 
Henry  Latrobe,  married  in  1753,  Margaret  Antes,  who  was 
the  daughter  of  John  Frederick  Antes,  thus  mixing  the 
English  stock  with  the  German,  for  Antes'  grandfather 
was  one  of  the  settlers  from  Frankfort,  in  what  is  known  as 
Germantown,  Pennsylvania.  John  Frederick  Antes  was 
a  man  described  as  of  large  frame,  and  of  considerable 
force  and  reputation.  His  grandfather,  Baron  Von  Blume, 
born  in  1620,  entered  a  monastery  and  adopted  for  name 
the  Greek  translation  of  the  word  Anthos,  a  flower;  but  later 
he  left  the  monastery  and  married  his  cousin  the  Baroness 
Von  Blume,  who  was  the  Superior  of  a  convent  at  Maintz. 
They  changed  their  faith,  becoming  Protestants,  and  em 
igrated  to  America,  where  they  assumed  the  name  of  Antes. 
The  union  of  his  great  grand-daughter  with  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  Henry  Latrobe,  who  became  a  Bishop  in  the  Mo 
ravian  Church,  was  blessed  with  five  children  who  reached 
maturity — Christian  Ignatius,  the  eldest  son,  who  succeeded 
his  father  as  Bishop  of  the  Moravian  Church  in  London; 
Benjamin  Henry,  the  second  son,  who  was  the  father  of 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe;  John  Frederick,  the  third,  who  married 
the  Baroness  Stackelberg  and  lived  at  Dorpat,  in  Livonia, 
Russia  (Mr.  Latrobe  speaks  of  meeting  the  son,  Edward 
de  Latrobe,  in  St.  Petersburg,  1857);  a  daughter,  Mary 


98  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Agnes,  who  married  a  Mr.  Bateman,  whose  son  was  the 
distinguished  English  hydraulic  engineer,  John  Frederick 
Latrobe  Bateman,  of  London;  and  another  daughter, 
Anna  Eleanora,  who  married  a  Mr.  Foster,  prominent  as  a 
lawyer.  One  of  the  Foster  family  was  the  English  Minister 
in  the  United  States  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812. 

I  have,  among  the  correspondence  of  Mr.  Latrobe,  a 
number  of  letters  from  his  uncle,  Bishop  Christian  Ignatius 
Latrobe,  and  also  letters  from  the  wife  of  his  uncle  John 
Frederick  in  Russia.  Christian  Ignatius  was  born  in  1758 
and  died  in  1836.  He  had  six  children,  Peter,  the  eldest, 
Charles  Joseph,  Charlotte,  Agnes,  Frederick  and  John. 

John  was  a  curate  of  St.  Peter's,  Hereford,  and  was  quite 
an  authority  on  church  music.  The  father  was  also  noted 
for  his  knowledge  of  music. 

Charles  Joseph  was  an  author.  He  wrote  the  "Alpine 
Stock,"  "Sketches  of  Swiss  Scenery  and  Manners,"  "The 
Pedestrian  or  Rambler  in  Italy,"  "The  Rambler  in  North 
America,"  which  was  written  from  travels  taken  by  him 
in  company  with  Washington  Irving,  and  "The  Rambler 
in  Mexico."  He  died  Governor  of  Australia  in  1875.  He 
was  born  in  1801. 

This  short  record  is  given  to  show  the  high  degree  of 
intelligence  and  ability  displayed  by  the  various  members 
of  the  family  from  which  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  was  descended. 

In  one  of  the  letters  written  by  Christian  Ignatius  to  Julia 
Latrobe,  the  sister  of  Mr.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  he  gives  a 
description  of  his  family  and  says  that  he  understands 
that  she  is  like  the  rest  of  the  Latrobes — of  large  stature; 
that  he  himself  was  frequently  mistaken  for  his  brother 
Benjamin  Henry  Latrobe,  after  the  latter  came  to  this 
country;  and  that  when  his  family  walked  through  the 
Streets  of  London  they  drew  attention,  from  the  fact  that 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  99 

he  himself  was  six  feet  two  inches,  Peter  six  feet  one  inch, 
Charles  Joseph  six  feet  one  inch,  Frederick  six  feet  two 
inches,  and  John  six  feet  one  inch.  Their  magnificent 
appearance  always  created  a  sensation  when  they  were 
together,  and  it  appears  as  if,  in  fact,  they  belonged  to 
the  Patagonian  breed. 

This  characteristic  of  size  seems  to  have  been  a  heritage 
of  the  Latrobes  in  this  country.  Mr.  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe, 
the  eldest  son  of  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  was  over  six  feet  tall, 
Osmun  Latrobe,  the  second  son,  was  over  six  feet  tall,  Stu 
art  Latrobe  was  a  man  of  six  feet,  and  the  only  one  who  was 
undersized  was  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Jr.  Benjamin  Latrobe, 
Jr.,  the  brother  of  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  was  over  six  feet 
tall,  and  his  son  Charles  Latrobe  was  a  man  of  six  feet, 
and  his  son  in  turn,  Gamble  Latrobe,  is  about  the  same 
height. 

It  was  necessary  that  Mr.  Latrobe  should  have  strong 
physique  and  good  health.  He  had  to  meet  a  condition 
which  required  strength  of  mind  and  body.  He  was  the 
head  of  a  family  consisting  of  his  brother  Benjamin,  four 
years  younger  than  himself,  Julia,  his  sister,  two  years 
younger,  his  mother  and  himself.  They  had  little  or  no 
means.  Isaac  Hazlehurst,  his  maternal  grandfather,  was 
not  in  a  position  to  lend  any  financial  aid.  Mr.  Benjamin 
Latrobe 's  enterprises  in  the  South  were  not  successful. 

From  1822  to  December  1832,  the  date  of  Mr.  Latrobe 's 
second  marriage,  was  the  period  of  bitterest  struggle. 

Human  life  at  times  has  been  compared  to  a  river. 
Rising  in  the  mountains  the  stream  rushes  over  obstacles, 
fretting,  foaming,  falling  with  occasional  quiet  stretches. 
It  passes  through  turmoil  and  strife,  and  at  last  reaches 
the  valley  through  which  it  flows  in  comparative  tranquil 
lity,  until  the  spirit,  like  little  Paul  Dombey's,  reaches 
the  sea  of  eternity. 


100  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

The  years  between  twenty  and  thirty  are  formative, 
and  afford  an  index  to  the  character.  Dr.  Samuel  John 
son  says:  "He  whoever  hopes  to  thrive  must  begin  by 
thirty-five." 

The  promise  given  of  fulfillment  by  Mr.  Latrobe  's  career 
at  West  Point  was  ratified  by  the  substance  of  his  achieve 
ment  during  these  ten  years.  Through  the  whole  web  of 
his  life,  however,  is  found  the  woof  or  thread  of  his  military 
experience  at  West  Point.  One  can  see  that  he  took  pride 
in  his  record  there,  and  he  harks  back  to  his  first  love 
frequently. 

Mr.  Latrobe  writes: 

"The  day  after  I  reached  Baltimore  I  reported  myself 
with  military  punctuality  at  General  Harper's  office  in 
Gay  Street  and  had  a  volume  of  Blackstone  put  in  my  hand 
and  a  seat  given  me  in  the  same  room  with  the  General, 
he  occupying  a  place  rather  on  one  side  of  the  centre  of  the 
space  immediately  opposite  the  fire,  and  I  an  arm  chair  with 
a  writing  desk  arm  close  to  the  mantle  piece  on  the  side 
next  the  windows. 

"The  house  was  immediately  opposite  the  'Exchange' 
and  had  been  one  of  the  handsomest  dwellings  of  its  day, 
thirty  feet  front  and  three  stories  high.  On  the  right 
hand  of  the  wide  hall  of  entrance  was  the  office  front 
ing  the  street;  the  dining  room  was  back.  The  drawing 
room  was  the  large  front  room  in  the  second  story.  But 
the  office  was  a  dark,  dingy  apartment.  Some  shelves  on 
either  side  of  the  door  from  the  hall  contained  a  few  old 
time  law  books — Coke  on  Littleton  in  folio,  Bacon's  Abridg 
ment,  Feme  on  Contingent  Remainders,  Cruise's  Digest, 
Coke 's  Reports,  the  Acts  of  Assembly  of  Maryland,  and  the 
Maryland  Reports.  There  was  an  India  folding  screen 
behind  General  Harper's  seat,  and  there  was  a  large  table 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  101 

between  the  windows  with  bundles  of  papers  on  it.  It  was 
not  the  fashion  in  those  days  to  carpet  lawyers '  offices,  and 
the  General 's  office  was  no  exception  in  this  respect.  There 
was  no  current  practice  to  bring  a  succession  of  clients  into 
the  room.  The  General's  practice  was  confined  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and,  occasionally, 
to  the  trial  of  cases  in  the  United  States  and  State  Courts 
in  Baltimore.  The  General  was  a  silent  man  too;  so  that  the 
transition  from  my  West  Point  life  to  the  daily  and  most 
oppressive  existence  in  the  quarters  I  have  described  was 
very  marked  and  uncomfortable,  to  say  the  very  least. 
It  was  a  long  walk  from  Lexington  near  Pine  to  Gay  Street, 
and  if  the  fresh  air  and  the  active  life  of  the  streets  exhila 
rated  me  on  my  way  to  the  office,  I  was  dull  enough  by  the 
time  I  closed  my  book  for  the  day.  Still  there  were  times 
when  the  General  would  talk,  and  would  take  an  interest 
in  my  studies. 

"At  the  end  of  a  conversation  that  had  a  purpose  of 
finding  out  something  about  the  pupil  in  his  office,  the 
General  asked  me  whether  I  rhymed  at  all,  and  when  I  con 
fessed  to  efforts  in  that  way,  he  advised  me  to  write  a  poem. 
He  said  I  wanted  facility  of  expression.  That  my  English 
education  had  been  neglected  at  college  for  Latin  or  Greek, 
and  at  West  Point  for  mathematics;  and  that  if  I  took  to 
rhyming  I  would  be  obliged  to  hunt  up  words  to  find  syn 
onyms  and  learn  to  round  periods.  He  advised  me  also  to 
translate  Latin  poetry  and  prose  with  the  same  view  as 
well  as  to  keep  up  my  knowledge  of  the  language.  He 
further  suggested  that  I  should  read  Spenser 's  Fairy  Queen, 
but  to  do  all  this  at  odd  times,  when  I  was  tired  of  reading; 
and  I  did  it  all,  and  read  law  into  the  bargain  faithfully. 
I  was  in  the  mire,  I  fancied,  and  law  was  to  get  me  out  of 
it,  and  law  I  tried  to  be  faithful  to,  and  think  I  succeeded. 
At  any  rate  I  have  been  as  successful  as  the  average. 


102  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"This  advice  was  not  given  all  at  one  time,  but  it  dropped 
from  the  General  in  the  course  of  my  first  year.  In  my  old 
desk  you  will  find  some  of  my  poetic  exercises,  and  see  that 
I  preferred  Catullus  to  the  duller  pages  of  Cicero  ad  famili- 
ares.  There  was  a  society  at  this  time  called  the  Philo- 
krisean,  composed  of  students  of  law.  This  I  joined,  and 
to  help  my  oratorical  studies  I  frequented  ward  meetings 
and  portrayed  the  virtues  and  the  claims  of  Jacob  Small 
for  the  office  of  the  Mayor,  though  this  must  have  been  in 
the  latter  portion  of  my  student  life.  I  collect  together  in 
this  place  all  that  I  now  recall  that  affected  in  any  way  my 
professional  education.  I  worked  hard,  very  hard,  during 
the  entire  term  of  my  probationary  period,  at  the  law  and 
at  the  other  things  as  well. 

"One  of  the  first  things  to  be  thought  of  was  how  best  to 
eke  out  the  very  scanty  means  at  my  dear  mother's  com 
mand,  and  I  tried  very  hard  at  literature  in  a  small  way. 
I  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Fielding  Lucas  and  William 
Gwynn,  the  former  the  leading  bookseller  in  Baltimore 
and  the  latter  a  lawyer  of  great  experience  and  the  editor 
of  the  Federal  Gazette.  Of  all  the  friends  of  my  life  none 
were  truer  than  these.  Mr.  Gwynn  saw  that  I  was  working 
hard  to  become  a  lawyer  and  suggested  that  I  should  begin 
to  write  a  book  on  the  duties  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and 
Constable,  by  way  of  learning  something  of  these  subjects 
myself.  Hard  by  General  Harper's  office  was  an  old 
gentleman  named  Griffith — Thomas  Griffith — a  magistrate. 
He  was  my  first  acquaintance  on  Gay  Street  and  I  used  to 
drop  in  at  his  office  on  my  way  home  in  the  evening  and 
talk  with  him  on  every  subject  under  the  sun.  He  was 
an  old  bachelor,  straight  and  spare,  with  his  Roman  visage 
sustained  by  a  high  white  cravat,  and  his  hair  done  up  in  a 
queue.  He  had  known  better  days,  had  lived  some  time 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  103 

in  France,  was  an  antiquarian  born,  and  was  engaged  in 
gathering  the  materials  which  afterwards  appeared  in 
print  under  the  title  of  the  Annals  of  Baltimore.  Mr. 
Gwynn's  suggestions,  his  most  useful  aid,  and  Griffith's 
practical  information,  were  the  helps  I  had  to  produce 
Latrobe  's  Justice  Practice,  which  was  first  published  after  I 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  which  was  begun  while  I  was 
yet  a  student.  Mr.  Lucas  wanted  to  help  me  and  I  wrote  a 
good  deal  for  him  that  was  paid  for  in  law  books  which  other 
wise  I  would  have  had  great  difficulty  in  procuring.  For 
Mr.  Lucas  I  both  wrote  and  drew.  I  revised  Jack  the 
Giant  Killer,  wrote  in  rhyme  and  illustrated  the  Juvenile 
National  Calendar.  Invented  Tray's  Travels  and  showed 
the  good  dog  upon  them.  Put  Hogarth's  two  apprentices 
into  verses  and  portrayed  them  both.  Cinderella  did  not 
escape  me  in  those  days,  and  the  boys  and  girls  of  Baltimore, 
now  elderly  people,  may  some  of  them,  perhaps,  remember 
the  small  octavo,  sixteen  paged  books,  on  each  page  of 
which  was  a  gaudily  colored  print,  explained  by  eight  lines 
of  doggerel  below  it. 

"But  I  aimed  higher  than  this  department  of  literature. 
An  old  friend  of  my  father's,  Mr.  Matthew  Carey,  of  Phila 
delphia,  knew  how  hard  I  was  put  to  it  to  scratch  along 
and  employed  me  to  write — after  the  manner  of  the  'Selectae 
e  profarus'  of  my  schoolboy  studies — a  volume  in  which 
moral  axioms  and  rules  were  illustrated  by  anecdotes,  and 
sent  me  a  great  collection  of  books  in  French,  Spanish 
and  English,  from  which  I  was  to  select  my  materials. 
This  was  a  heavy  but  useful  labor  that  I  performed  at  night 
at  home,  and  this  book  made  its  appearance  under  the 
name  of  'Practical  Reading  Lessons  on  the  Duties  that 
Man  Owes  to  his  God,  to  his  Fellow  Beings  and  to  Humanity.' 
Mr.  Carey  paid  me  two  hundred  dollars  for  it,  a  small 
fortune  in  those  days. 


104  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"The  publishers  of  Sanderson's  Biography  of  the  Signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  having  applied  to 
General  Harper  to  write  the  life  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carroll- 
ton,  the  General  handed  the  task  over  to  me,  and  I  wrote 
the  life  accordingly  from  the  notes  furnished  to  me  by 
Mr.  Carroll  from  the  newspapers  of  the  Revolutionary 
days,  and  from  what  I  could  pick  up  from  the  family.  This 
I  was  paid  for  at  so  much  a  page.  When  I  had  completed  it, 
I  read  the  biography  to  Mr.  Carroll,  who  listened  to  it 
with  great  gravity  and,  when  I  ceased  reading  it,  said 
with  much  naivete,  '  Why,  Mr.  Latrobe,  you  have  made  me 
a  much  greater  man  than  I  ever  fancied  myself  to  be,  and 
yet,  really,  you  have  said  nothing  that  is  not  very  true ! ' 

"Mr.  Lucas  was  publishing,  while  I  was  yet  a  student, 
*McKenny's  Tour  to  the  Lakes,'  and  I  drew  illustrations 
that  the  books  contained  and  obtained  a  further  credit  on 
my  law  book  account.  At  a  later  date  I  condensed  for 
Mr.  Lucas  'Scott's  Infantry  Tactics,'  and  followed  it  by 
the  '  Rifle  Tactics '  of  the  same  author,  and  I  wrote  'Lucas' 
Progressive  Drawing  Books'  and  drew  all  that  it  contains. 
This  was  a  very  expensive  book  selling  for  $12.00  and  was 
gotten  up  at  great  expense.  For  a  long  time  it  was  in 
general  use. 

"The  Atlantic  Souvenirs  were  at  this  time  being  pub 
lished  by  the  Messrs.  Carey,  of  Philadelphia,  and  I  became  a 
contributor  of  prose  and  rhyme  under  the  nom  de  plume  of 
Godfrey  Wallace.  The  three  tales  or  novelettes  of  the 
''Esmeralda,'  the  'Mortgage'  and  'Giles  Heatherby,'  and 
in  rhyme  'The  Bower  of  Paplius'  and  one  or  two  other 
jingles  were  from  my  pen.  These  paid  very  fairly.  My 
friend,  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  afterwards  Solicitor  of  the  Treas 
ury  and  then  Attorney  General,  was  the  editor.  Had  I 
let  him  know  who  Godfrey  Wallace  was,  as  he  afterwards 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  105 

told  me,  he  would  have  helped  me  in  my  efforts  to  obtain 
literary  work,  but  I  had  a  morbid  feeling  in  these  days, 
and  I  kept  these  matters  to  myself.  '  The  Heroine  of  Suli' 
was  one  of  my  stories.* 

"Nor  must  I  forget  the  ' Rainbow,'  an  ephemeral  periodi 
cal  that  reached  four  numbers  and  then  died  out,  and  which 
had  been  gotten  up  by  my  fellow  students,  David  Stewart 
and  Robert  Purviance,  and  myself,  and  published  by 
Edward  L.  Coale,  a  leading  bookseller,  and  one  of  the  kind 
est,  warmest  hearted  and  useful  of  my  friends.  It  was  an 
imitation,  Congo  intervallo,  of  Salmagundi.  I  was  the 
principal  contributor,  and  in  my  care  it  breathed  its  last; 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  oneself  in  print  while  a  student  of 
law  was  all  the  compensation  this  little  affair  afforded. 

"Mr.  Lucas  got  up  a  'Picture  of  Baltimore'  while  I  was 
still  working  with  my  pen  to  eke  out  my  professional  earn 
ings,  and  I  wrote  the  letter  press  and  drew  the  pictures. 
It  sold  well  and  was  regarded  as  clever  enough.  I  saw  a 
copy  of  it  the  other  day,  and  only  wonder  that  Lucas  had 
the  courage  to  publish  what  now  strikes  me  as  below  criti 
cism  even. 

"The  above  is  not  intended  to  give  the  order  of  my  heter 
ogeneous  productions.  They  extended  over  many  years. 
I  put  them  all  together  as  falling  within  the  time  when  I 
worked  for  money  or  for  a  literary  cause,  outside  of  my 
calling  of  a  lawyer. 

"To  get  through  with  the  narrative  of  these  my  rough 
days,  it  is  perhaps  as  well  to  say  now  as  at  any  other  time, 
that  one  of  my  objects  was  to  maintain,  as  well  as  I  could, 

*  Mr.  Edward  Stabler,  Jr.,  writes  an  article  entitled  "Godfrey  Wallace,"  giving 
an  account  of  an  interview  he  had  with  Mr.  Latrobe  on  the  subject  of  his  contri 
butions  to  the  "Souvenir."  It  is  published  in  Maryland  Historical  Magazine, 
Vol.  v,  No.  4. 


JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

the  social  position  of  my  father.  I  do  not  pretend  that  1 
was  influenced  by  only  my  own  romantic  ideas  upon  this 
subject,  but  my  education  before  I  went  to  West  Point, 
my  associations  coupled  with  my  rank  there,  made  other 
society  and  habits  of  life  than  those  I  had  been  accustomed 
to  distasteful,  and  when  in  Baltimore  on  my  return  from 
the  Military  Academy  I  availed  of  the  occasions  that  pre 
sented  themselves  of  keeping  up  the  intimacy  I  desired  in 
quarters  which  my  father  and  mother  would  have  approved. 
I  am  not  sure  that  this  is  worth  mentioning,  or  that  it  will 
do  me  any  credit  with  my  children,  who  might  prefer  the 
record  of  one  who,  utterly  indifferent  to  social  surroundings, 
depended  upon  others  finding  out  his  merits  to  give  him 
his  proper  place.  The  fact  is,  however,  as  I  stated;  but 
the  difficulty  was,  on  my  extremely  narrow  means,  to  manage 
to  do  this.  Ah!  those  were  days  when  a  good  coat  lasted 
a  long  time,  and  when  clothes  were  worn  threadbare. 
Fortunately,  my  brother  Ben  and  myself  were  about  the 
same  height,  and  many  a  tune  had  that  been  found  a  con 
venience,  when  one  of  us  wanted  to  avail  of  the  better 
supplied  wardrobe  of  the  other.  Why!  when,  I  had  been 
admitted  to  practice  and  had  become  engaged  to  be  married, 
I  borrowed  Ben's  best  coat  to  wear  to  New  York  on  a 
visit  to  my  intended  there.  Still,  I  managed  to  get  along, 
and  was  as  prominent  at  balls  and  parties  as  most  of  the 
young  men  of  my  age  about  town. 

"My  own  merits  had  little  to  do  with  this  most  probably. 
My  good  friend,  General  Harper,  was  a  son-in-law  of  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  and  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Richard 
Caton,  and  with  the  Carroll  and  Caton  families  my  father 
and  mother  had  been  very  intimate  in  the  lifetime  of  the 
former.  Mr.  Caton 's  house,  where  Mr.  Carroll  passed  his 
winters,  was  the  resort  of  the  best  society  in  Baltimore, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  107 

and  the  house  that  all  distinguished  foreigners  sought  when 
they  visited  the  City.  I  was  received  there  as  though  I 
belonged  to  the  family.  Mr.  Robert  Gilmor  and  Mr. 
Robert  Oliver  had  been  friends  of  my  father,  and  did  not 
forget  his  son  when  my  mother  came  back  to  Baltimore. 
These  were  wondrous  helps  to  me, — to  mention  none  other — 
in  the  social  world.  And,  then,  I  had  the  prestige  of  position 
at  West  Point  when  I  left  it,  and  I  could  write  verses  and 
draw  tolerably,  and  had  odds  and  ends  of  knowledge, 
picked  up,  rather  than  learned,  that  helped  me  socially. 
Professionally  my  fine  acquaintances  did  precious  little 
for  me. 

"In  those  days  I  was  inordinately  fond  of  the  theatre, 
but  had  no  money  to  spend  there,  and  actually  used  to 
avoid  the  theatre-bills  on  the  walls  on  the  streets.  I 
never  saw  Charles  Mathews,  Senior,  but  once,  and  that  was 
owing  to  the  liberality  of  an  old  school  friend,  Morton, 
who  insisted  on  treating  me,  and  we  went  into  the  gallery 
to  see  'Goldfinch.'  Morton  and  I  had  been  cronies  at 
West  Point.  I  do  believe  I  was,  in  many  things,  good 
perforce,  and  look  back  now,  without  regret,  to  my  im- 
pecuniosity  in  those  days. 

"I  rather  think  I  was  regarded  as  clever  by  my  fellow 
students  in  the  beginning  of  my  novitiate,  for  I  was  ap 
pointed  to  deliver  the  annual  address  before  the  Philokrisean 
Society,  a  copy  of  which  can  be  found  in  the  old  desk.  The 
performance  was  a  jejune  one,  and  we  had  a  supper  after  it, 
which  was  so  jolly  an  affair  that  the  memory  of  it  still  re 
mains. 

"I  was  admitted  to  the  bar  May  8,  1824,  without  an 
examination.  I  had  just  completed  my  21st  year  when  I 
made  application.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  in 
quire  into  my  qualifications.  Colonel  U.  S.  Heath  was  one 


108  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

of  the  committee.  It  had  so  happened  that  my  good  old 
friend,  Mr.  William  Gwynn,  had  stated  a  case  to  me  some 
days  before  and  asked  me  to  look  into  the  authorities  and 
give  him  an  opinion  in  writing.  This  I  did,  and  when  he 
heard  that  Colonel  Heath  was  to  examine  me,  he  handed 
him  what  I  had  written,  whereupon  the  Colonel  said  that  an 
examination  was  unnecessary  and  signed  my  certificate. 

"Adjoining  General  Harper's  home  was  a  small  two- 
story  building,  the  back  room  of  which  the  General  gave  me 
as  an  office.  It  was  a  very  gloomy  room,  looking  out  upon 
General  Harper's  stable  yard.  I  am  not  sure  that  I  did 
not  complete  my  legal  studies  here.  I  rather  think  I  did, 
because  I  was  joined  in  it  by  other  students  that  the  General 
took,  after  my  first  year  in  his  own  office.  My  companions 
were  Charles  Carroll,  the  grandson  already  mentioned, 
Charles  Harper,  the  General's  son,  William  George  Read, 
of  South  Carolina,  and  Richard  Bennett  Mitchell  and  James 
D.  Mitchell,  young  men  from  the  Eastern  Shore.  It  was 
here  that  T.  Yates  Walsh,  afterwards  a  prominent  member 
of  the  bar,  came  into  the  General's  office.  On  the  death 
of  General  Harper  and  the  dispersal  of  the  students,  I  re 
tained  the  office  for  a  short  time  as  my  law  office.  Charles 
Harper  occupied  the  rooms  above. 

"  Charles  Harper  I  described  as  one  of  the  Aides  at  the  re 
ception  of  Lafayette  (Chapter  V).  Charles  Carroll  was 
only  nominally  a  student.  He  was  rarely  in  the  office, 
and  when  there  did  not  devote  himself  to  his  law 
books.  Both  Harper  and  himself  were  graduates  of  Harvard 
and  were  alike  popular  with  the  rest  of  us.  Read  was  a 
man  of  distinguished  ability  and  a  high-toned  gentleman, 
too  elevated  perhaps,  if  that  could  be — a  person  to  whom  the 
term  chivalrous  was  eminently  applicable.  He  wrote  ad 
mirably,  was  a  poet — perhaps  I  should  rather  say,  was  of 


THE  TOMBIGBEE  RIVER 
Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  109 

a  poetic  temperament — and  one  more  sensitive  on  points 
of  personal  honor  I  never  knew.  We  had  become  quite 
intimate,  and  I  had  given  him  an  account  of  my  West 
Point  career.  Someone  told  him  I  had  been  dismissed 
from  the  Academy.  He  at  once  asked  me  if  it  was  so,  and 
it  was  then  I  found  the  value  of  my  certificate  from  the 
professors,  for  the  idea  that  I  had  not  made  a  clean  breast 
to  him  seemed  to  give  him  actual  bodily  pain.  While  he 
lived,  he  was  one  of  my  warmest,  firmest  friends.  He 
became  a  Roman  Catholic  while  in  the  office,  and  many  were 
the  discussions  we  had  upon  the  subject.  He  went  to  his 
first  Communion,  and  I  became  confirmed  by  Bishop  Kemp 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  He  never  succeeded 
at  the  Bar.  He  was  too  sensitive  for  the  rough  and  tumble 
of  the  profession,  and,  besides,  a  very  happy  marriage  with 
a  very  lovely  woman  made  him  ultimately  independent 
of  its  labors.  The  two  Mitchells  were  young  men  of  means, 
but  kind  and  genial  companions. 

"After  the  first  month  or  two  I  ceased  to  be  afraid  in 
the  presence  of  the  grave,  dignified,  refined  and  punctilious 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  in  whose  office  I  had  my  chair. 
Of  the  middle  height,  straight  as  an  arrow,  strongly  rather 
than  delicately  built,  square  shouldered,  of  a  florid  complex 
ion  and  very  bald,  with  regular  features,  an  aquiline  nose, 
clear  gray  eyes,  and  compressed  lips,  of  formal  carriage 
and  precise  speech,  my  dear  old  master  at  the  end  of  half 
a  century  stands  now  before  my  mental  vision  as  if  I  had 
parted  from  him  within  the  hour.  I  see  him  in  his  blue  coat 
and  buff  waistcoat,  his  tight  pantaloons,  and  highly  pol 
ished  and  carefully  fitting  boots,  with  his  feet  turned  out  in 
soldierly  fashion,  laying  down  the  law  to  me  in  the  office 
as  to  the  jury  in  the  Court  room  with  a  clearness  and 
accuracy  of  expression  such  as  few  men  possessed.  Always 


110  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

cool,  never  excited,  speaking  always  in  the  same  agreeable 
voice,  he  was  a  model  of  a  forensic  orator.  More  of  a 
politician,  in  the  highest  sense  of  statesmanship,  than  a 
lawyer  of  forms  and  precedents.  There  were  men  in  the 
profession,  who  at  times  got  the  better  of  General  Harper 
in  matters  of  details.  But  when  in  a  great  cause  great 
principles  were  to  be  discussed,  developed  and  illustrated, 
he  had  not  one  superior  at  the  Bar  of  Maryland.  Taken 
all  in  all,  Mr.  Pinkney  was  a  greater  lawyer  than  General 
Harper.  But  with  this  exception  he  had  no  superior. 
He  was  without  the  arrogance  of  Mr.  Pinkney,  and  while 
the  latter  was  to  be  dreaded  as  a  crushing  opponent,  General 
Harper  was  to  be  esteemed  and  beloved  as  a  true  man, 
and  a  powerful  and  generous  advocate.  His  character 
istic  was  clearness.  He  had  no  imagination.  If  he  was 
eloquent,  as  he  often  was,  it  was  the  eloquence  of  simplicity. 
As  a  writer  of  pure  English,  he  had  no  superior  in  the  pro 
fession. 

"So  much  for  the  lawyer.  As  a  man,  General  Harper 
was  the  kindest  and  tenderest  of  husbands,  the  most  affec 
tionate  of  parents,  and  the  truest  and  most  devoted  of  friends. 
Generous  to  a  fault,  and  in  the  social  circles  at  the  head 
of  his  own  table  with  no  superiors.  No  one  ever  felt  in 
clined  to  slap  General  Harper  on  the  shoulder,  or  take  a 
personal  liberty — he  was  one  of  the  class  of  men  with  whom 
such  things  are  simply  impossible.  When  I  say  that  I 
ceased  to  be  afraid  of  General  Harper,  I  mean  that  I  found 
I  could  speak  to  him  without  embarrassment,  when  en 
couraged  by  the  interest  that  he  seemed  to  take  in  me.  He 
had  two  great  hobbies — internal  improvement  and  African 
colonization.  The  part  I  have  taken  in  these  matter 
from  my  student  hours  to  the  present  time  is  due  to  the 
impressions  derived  from  General  Harper  in  an  intercourse 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  111 

which,  making  allowance  for  difference  in  age  and  standing, 
became  gradually  intimate.  I  am  very  sure  that  I  gave 
my  first  vote  to  General  Jackson  because  of  the  convictions 
derived  from  my  intercourse  with  General  Harper. 

"I  think  the  ice  between  General  Harper  and  myself 
was  first  broken  on  the  occasion  of  a  ball  given  by  public 
subscription  in  the  Holliday  Street  Theatre  in  favor  of 
the  Greeks  who  were  then  struggling  for  their  freedom. 
The  General  wanted  a  transparency  painted,  represent 
ing  Marco  Bozzaris  storming  the  Turkish  Camp,  and  I 
undertook  the  work  and,  with  the  aid  of  Cornelius  Debeets, 
a  very  clever  artist  in  oil,  whose  specialty,  by  the  way, 
was  flowers,  and  in  an  old  building  that  used  to  stand 
behind  the  City  Springs,  managed  the  job.  The  figure 
was  a  capital  one,  for  it  was  a  careful  enlargement  of  one 
of  Flaxman's  illustrations  of  the  Iliad  or  Odyssey.  As 
to  the  coloring  I  cannot  say  much.  I  remember  the  face 
looked  terribly  red,  and  the  shadows  of  the  nose  were  snuffy 
in  the  extreme.  I  painted  the  face,  and  Debeets  did  the 
rest.  When  that  colossal  figure  was  finished,  the  General 
wanted  some  descriptive  lines,  and  I  furnished  the  article. 

"I  was  quite  elated  with  the  admiration  bestowed  on  my 
performances,  which  occupied  one  end  of  the  old  assembly 
rooms  at  the  Northwest  corner  of  Holliday  and  Fayette 
Streets,  until  I  heard  George  Howard,  afterwards  Governor 
of  Maryland,  read  the  verses  aloud  to  a  group  of  ladies, 
and  when  he  came  to  the  concluding  lines, 

Then  to  his  tattered  flag  still  closer  clung 

And  died  with  Greece  and  Freedom  on  bis  tongue. 

exclaiming,  'Well,  if  his  tongue  was  well  greased,  it's  no 
wonder  it  went  with  Freedom.'  The  roar  of  laughter  that 


112  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

ensued  spoiled  much  of  my  sport  for  that  evening,  and 
reduced  my  vanity  to  zero." 

A  copy  of  the  verses  as  preserved  by  Mr.  Latrobe  's  sister 
here  follows :- 

Thus  marched  Bozzaris  on  his  bold  career, 

Hope  nerved  his  arm  and  vengeance  steeled  his  spear; 

High  hi  the  air  he  waved  his  banner  proud, 

The  Hero's  glory,  soon  the  Hero's  shroud. 

Like  rocket  hurrying  through  the  gloom  of  night 

To  burst  in  splendor  at  its  farthest  flight, 

So  flew  Bozzaris  to  o'er  the  rocky  steep 

And  gained  the  Turk  reposed  in  careless  sleep. 

Raised  the  loud  war-cry,  charged  the  startled  foe 

And,  victory  gained,  received  the  fatal  blow. 

Then  to  his  tattered  flag  still  closer  clung 

And  died  with  Greece  and  Freedom  on  his  tongue. 

"Writing  these  reminiscences,  without  searching  for 
memoranda  to  fix  dates,  I  may  be  mistaken  in  regard  to 
the  time  of  the  Greek  Ball. 

"A  memory  of  the  house  in  Lexington  Street  beyond 
Pine  flashes  on  me  as  I  write.  Among  others  of  my  mother 's 
visitors  was  a  Mrs.  B — y  C — e,  a  woman  not  far  short  of 
five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  and  large  in  proportion.  She 
was  a  great  bore  to  all  her  acquaintances.  She  timed  her 
calls  at  tea,  and  not  all  her  bright  remarks,  bitter  and  sar 
castic  generally,  her  varied  information  and  knowledge  of 
the  world,  prevented  her  room  from  being  more  desirable 
than  her  company.  She  was  my  *  bite  noire. '  I  detested 
her,  nor  was  my  dislike  lessened  by  the  fact  that  I  was 
obliged  to  see  her  safe  at  home  after  every  visit.  She  fully 
appreciated  my  feelings,  and  late  one  night  on  our  way 
down  Lexington  Street  she  stopped  suddenly  at  the  parapet 
of  the  culvert  over  Chatsworth  Run,  just  under  a  lamp 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  113 

that  shed  its  light  full  on  her  face.  'Young  man,'  she  said, 
looking  down  into  the  Run  some  feet  below  where  we  stood, 
'if  you  had  your  way,  you  would  get  rid  of  my  company 
by  pitching  me  into  that  muddy  water.  Now  be  honest, 
wouldn't  you?'  'Upon  my  honor,  Madame,'  I  answered, 
'that  is  unquestionably  what  I'd  do,  without  the  smallest 
compunction.'  Whereupon  she  laughed  heartily,  said  she 
liked  me  for  my  frankness,  and  won  my  regard  by  never 
permitting  me  to  go  home  with  her  again.  Among  my 
contemporaries  the  initials  I  have  used  would  be  all  sufficient 
to  identify  a  very  remarkable  person,  of  historic  name  in 
Maryland.  (Chase) 

"Another  reminiscence  I  record  for  the  sake  of  your  Uncle 
Ben.  We  had,  spending  the  winter  with  us,  a  cousin  who  at 
tended  the  medical  lectures  and  who  was  an  expert  pugilist, 
remarkably  long  in  the  arms  and  one  of  those  teasing  fellows 
who  have  the  faculty  of  provocation  in  a  most  eminent 
degree.  He  was  your  Uncle's  senior  by  several  years, 
and  took  a  special  delight  in  tormenting  that  sensitive  man- 
boy  rather,  for  he  was  but  some  sixteen  or  seventeen  years 
old  at  the  time.  Ben  remonstrated,  so  did  I,  so  did  my 
mother,  but  to  no  effect.  A.  took  his  cousin  to  be  wanting 
in  pluck,  and  at  last  mere  teasing  became  bullying.  The 
way  we  settled  such  things  at  West  Point  was  to  fight  them 
out,  and  I  told  my  brother  that  he  would  have  to  settle  this 
in  the  same  way.  All  the  advantages  of  age,  strength  and 
skill  were  on  A.  's  side,  and  I  regarded  the  contest,  if  one 
took  place,  as  desperately  against  his  victim.  It  so  hap 
pened  that  there  was  a  lull  in  the  annoyances,  and  I  had 
forgotten  the  matter  until  I  was  reminded  of  it  one  day  on 
returning  to  my  office  by  finding  my  mother  with  a  soup 
plate  of  vinegar  and  half  a  quire  of  brown  paper,  plastering 
the  battered  visages  of  the  two  cousins.  It  seems  that  A. 


114  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

had  met  Ben  on  his  return  from  St.  Mary's  College,  where 
he  was  a  day  scholar,  and,  as  he  passed  him,  baa'd  like  a 
sheep,  or  did  something  equally  provoking;  whereupon  Ben 
went  in  and,  pluck  making  up  for  adroitness,  the  two  battered 
each  other  until  my  mother,  rushing  into  the  yard,  separated 
the  combatants  and  distributed  between  them  the  remedy 
for  bruises  in  the  year  of  1826.  The  cousins  became  excel 
lent  friends  afterwards,  agreeing  that  the  honors  of  the 
fight  were  about  equally  divided.  They  had  fought  till  both 
had  to  be  put  to  bed. 

"One  recollection  suggests  another.  I  have  mentioned 
that  on  my  way  to  West  Point  I  had  purchased  a  flute,  and 
on  this,  both  at  the  Point  and  afterwards,  I  had  hammered 
away  until  with  good  notions  of  time,  but  without  notions 
of  harmony,  I  had  qualified  myself  to  accompany  my 
brother,  who  was  blessed  with  an  excellent  voice  and  was 
a  natural  musician  in  the  number  of  simple  airs,  such  as 
'Robin  Adair,  of  a'  the  airs  the  winds  can  blow,'  and  such 
like.  Both  of  us  being  at  a  sentimental  age,  we  determined 
to  serenade  our  idols  for  the  time  being,  and  on  one  occasion, 
while  in  the  midst  of  a  touching  melody,  were  approached 
by  a  watchman  and  told  to  'quiet  that  d — d  noise  and  go 
home. '  He  was,  of  course,  a  fellow  of  no  taste,  who  pre 
ferred  his  'ten  o'clock  and  a  cloudy  night'  to  vocal  music 
with  a  flute  accompaniment. 

"While  in  the  Lexington  Street  house  last  mentioned,  I 
worked  hard  to  improve  myself  in  English,  for  West  Point 
was  no  place  to  learn  it,  and  I  read  Spenser's  Fairy  Queen 
and  translated  Carmen,  after  Carmen  of  Catullus,  together 
with  letter  after  letter  of  Cicero  ad  familiares.  I  also 
learned  to  read  Spanish.  French  I  was  already  proficient  in. 
I  puzzled  away,  too,  at  Locke  on  the  '  Human  Understanding* 
and  Say  on  'Political  Economy'  and  I  read  diligently  and 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  115 

laboriously  in  the  law.  I  am  not  sure  that  any  of  you  have 
yet  made  up  your  minds  as  to  what  real  hard  work  is.  I 
was  doing  outside  things,  besides,  that  paid.  In  fact,  I 
never  had  an  idle  hour,  no,  not  an  idle  minute.  The  scraps 
of  time  before  breakfast,  waiting  for  my  dinner,  etc.,  were 
a  find  to  me,  that  I  invested  in  many  ways,  and  in  some 
form  or  other  no  knowledge  I  ever  acquired  has  failed  to 
be  useful. " 


CHAPTER  V 

MR.  LATROBE'S  CONNECTION  WITH  THINGS  MILITARY, 
AFTER  LEAVING  WEST  POINT  IN  1821 — His  ASSOCIA 
TION  FOR  Six  YEARS  WITH  MILITIA — RECEPTION  OF 
LAFAYETTE  IN  BALTIMORE,  1824 — TRIP  TO  PHILADEL 
PHIA  IN  COMMAND  OF  LIGHT  INFANTRY  COMPANY — 
MONUMENT  TO  KOSCIUSZKO  AT  WEST  POINT — PRESIDENT, 
BOARD  OF  VISITORS,  WEST  POINT  IN  1849 — His  AN 
NUAL  VISIT  TO  WEST  POINT — His  RELATIONS  WITH 
GENERAL  THAYER — THE  THREE  BATTLES — FRIENDSHIP 
WITH  GENERAL  GIBBON 

Before  taking  up  the  relation  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  life  as 
a  lawyer,  I  shall  complete  the  account  of  his  military  career 
begun  at  West  Point  in  1818. 

Robert  Goodloe  Harper,  whose  office  Mr.  Latrobe  en 
tered  after  leaving  West  Point  in  December  1821,  was  the 
General  of  the  Third  Division  of  the  Maryland  Militia. 
Mr.  Latrobe  entered  into  and  became  a  part  of  this  Militia. 

As  Captain  of  the  "Chasseurs  of  Lafayette,"  and  as 
First  Aide  to  General  Harper,  he  participated  in  the  re 
ception  given  to  Lafayette  in  Baltimore,  in  1824. 

In  speaking  of  his  position  as  Captain  of  the  "Chas 
seurs  of  Lafayette,"  he  says,  in  reference  to  his  first  speech 
which  he  made  in  the  prosecution  of  McCullough  for  pass 
ing  counterfeit  money: 

"The  speech,  which  I  made  in  court  in  the  case  of  Mc 
Cullough,  procured  -me  more  notice  than  I  would  have  ex 
pected  and  was  the  cause  of  my  being  appointed  the  Captain 
of  a  Company  of  riflemen  composed  altogether  of  mechanics, 
who  adopted  the  name  of  the  'Chasseurs  of  Lafayette.' ' 

116 


AND  HIS  TIMES,  1803-1891  117 

In  what  Mr.  Latrobe  calls  "The  Memoranda  of  My  Life," 
he  says : 

"After  I  had  been  in  General  Harper's  office  for  a  year, 
I  suppose,  it  was  determined  by  the  Military  of  the  City 
to  receive  Governor  Stevens  with  public  honors,  and  to 
have  a  review  of  the  citizen  soldiery  at  Whetstone  Point, 
then  a  barren  tract  of  land  without  an  improvement  on 
it.  General  Harper,  being  the  Major  General  of  the  3rd 
Military  Division  of  the  State,  was  the  officer  in  com 
mand,  and  at  once  appointed  me  his  Aide,  presented  me  with 
a  uniform  complete,  and  gave  me  the  Damascus  bladed 
sword  that  is  still  in  my  possession.  It  had  been  pre 
sented  to  the  General  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  the 
story  connected  with  it  was  that  it  had  been  taken  from 
the  body  of  a  French  officer  at  the  Battle  of  Waterloo. 
It  was  certainly  a  magnificent  weapon  of  true  Damascus 
steel. 

"The  orders  of  the  Review  and  the  general  management 
fell  upon  me,  to  whom  a  West  Point  education  made  such 
things  familiar. 

"The  review  went  off.  very  well,  and  my  prominence 
at  it  led  to  my  being  offered  the  command  of  a  military 
company  that  was  being  raised  in  Baltimore,  the  mem 
bers  being  the  'b-hoys'  of  the  New  Market  Fire  Company, 
a  rough,  kindhearted  set  of  scamps,  quite  notorious  in 
the  City.  I  got  it  into  shape,  and  paraded  with  it  in  a 
uniform  that  was  supremely  ridiculous,  but  which  was  to 
the  taste  of  the  material  of  the  command.  Plaid  pants, 
plaid  tunics,  and  a  cap  covered  with  plaid,  the  body  of 
the  cap  being  an  old  bell  crowned  hat,  with  the  brim  razied, 
and,  to  crown  all,  a  black  feather.  It  was  with  some 
difficulty  I  was  persuaded  to  dress  myself  in  this  para 
phernalia;  but  I  did,  and  my  'Butterflies,'  as  they  were 


118  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

nicknamed,  soon  became  a  well-drilled  body  of  men.  It 
was  while  I  was  Captain  of  the  'Butterflies'  in  1824  that 
Lafayette  came  to  Baltimore,  and  great  was  the  military 
display  on  the  occasion.  I  preferred,  of  course,  acting  as  Aide 
to  the  Major-General  rather  than  figuring  at  the  head  of 
my  New  Marketters;  but  I  designed  a  flag  for  them,  called 
them  the  'Chasseurs  of  Lafayette,'  and  got  the  General 
to  present  it.  The  painting  of  the  flag  was  far  better 
than  common.  On  one  side  of  the  flag  were  the  date  and 
name,  and  on  the  other  side  a  hand  grasping  at  a  star  with 
the  motto  'Forward.'  I  rather  think  my  men  understood 
the  idea  of  the  painting  no  better  than  they  did  the  pro 
nunciation  of  the  Company's  name,  which  in  their  mouths 
became  'Chassers,'  and  even  'Chasers.'  I  forget  what  be 
came  of  the  'Chassers.'  I  resigned  after  the  Lafayette 
visit,  and  I  think  my  jolly  dogs  got  some  new  fancy  into 
their  heads,  and  let  the  company  run  down.  The  only 
man  belonging  to  it  that  I  now  see  sometimes  is  the  runner 
of  the  Eutaw  Savings  Bank,  a  good,  religious,  elderly  man, 
named  Snyder,  who  still  calls  me  'Captain.' 

"It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  say  a  word  or  two  here 
about  the  Lafayette  visit.  General  Harper  appointed 
three  additional  Aides  on  the  occasion.  One  was  his  son, 
Charles  Carroll  Harper,  my  intimate,  most  intimate  friend, 
a  man  of  brilliant  talents,  charming  manners,  refined 
and  generous,  a  man  whose  superior  in  all  these  qualities 
I  have  yet  to  meet.  A  graduate  of  Harvard,  a  powerful 
and  elegant  writer,  and,  in  every  respect,  an  accomplished 
gentleman.  He  is  still  the  exemplar  of  all  that  is  worthy 
and  noble.  I  loved  him  very  dearly.  But  this  is  a  digres 
sion.  The  third  Aide-de-Camp  was  Charles  Carroll,  the 
grandson  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  and  the  fourth 
was  S.  Owings  Hoffman,  an  excellent  gentleman  and  the 
friend  of  the  other  Aides. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891 


119 


"Here,  as  in  the  case  of  Governor  Stevens'  reception, 
I  had  virtually  command,  and,  when  everything  was  ar 
ranged,  the  General  and  his  staff  went  on  board  the  'Con 
stitution'  Steamboat,  which  was  to  proceed  to  French- 
town,  there  to  receive  Lafayette  on  his  way  from  Wash 
ington.  He  had  been  delayed  on  the  route,  and  some 
hours  elapsed,  after  the  steamboat  reached  the  wharf, 
before  he  made  his  appearance.  General  Harper  and  his 
Aides  were  seated  in  the  dimly  lighted  cabin.  The  Gen 
eral  was  talking  politics,  and,  as  a  staunch  Federalist, 
was  commenting  on  the  conduct  of  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams 
in  no  measured  terms,  as  one  who  had  left  the  Federal 
party,  when  who  should  descend  the  cabin  stairs  but  Mr. 
Adams  himself,  who  had  come  across  the  peninsula  on  the 
regular  stage  line  on  his  way  to  Baltimore.  General  Har 
per  was  still  speaking  as  Mr.  Adams  approached,  ignorant, 
of  course,  of  his  vicinity,  when  turning  around,  he  saw  him 
within  a  few  paces.  Rising,  with  his  peculiar  and  digni 
fied  manner,  he  advanced  and  held  out  his  hand,  which 
the  other  took.  That  Mr.  Adams  had  not  heard  a  portion 
of  General  Harper's  remarks  was  not  to  be  believed;  but 
the  two  veteran  politicians  were  not  to  be  startled  out  of 
their  proprieties,  and  they  greeted  each  other  with  seem 
ing  cordiality. 

"It  is  not  my  purpose  to  dwell  on  the  details  of  Lafayette's 
visit.  After  the  review  he  presented  the  flag  to  my  com 
pany,  and  after  the  dinner  he  was  put  into  one  of  Stock 
ton  and  Stokes'  four  horse  stages,  and,  with  General  Har 
per's  Aides  on  each  side  of  the  vehicle,  set  out  on  the  road 
to  Washington.  We  were  met  at  the  Prince  George's 
County  line  by  the  Cavalry  of  that  County,  who  were  to 
escort  him  to  the  line  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  With 
out  the  smallest  consideration  for  the  fact  that  I  had  been 


120  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

in  the  saddle  all  the  morning  and  was  withal  not  accus 
tomed  to  lengthy  equitation,  the  coachman  undertook 
to  show  off  the  merits  of  his  team,  by  keeping  them  up 
to  their  most  rapid  trot  between  Baltimore  and  Water 
loo,  a  well  remembered  distance  of  twelve  miles.  Un 
luckily  my  steed,  a  handsome  black,  chose  to  keep  step 
with  the  wheels  of  the  coach  and,  being  a  rough  trotter, 
put  me  to  torture  after  the  first  five  miles,  which  was  not 
relieved  by  the  banging  against  my  legs  of  the  honored 
sabre  from  another  Waterloo.  Still  pride  feels  no  pain, 
and  after  the  arrival  of  the  cortege  at  Waterloo  and  the 
vanishing  of  the  stage,  General  and  all  in  the  dust  kicked 
up  by  the  Prince  George's  Cavalry,  I  accepted  an  invitation 
from  Colonel  Ridgeley,  in  command  of  the  cavalry  that 
had  escorted  the  General  from  Baltimore,  to  go  with  him 
to  his  place,  "Oaklands,"  some  miles  to  the  North.  By 
the  time  we  reached  there  I  was  helped  off  my  horse  and 
hobbled  into  the  house,  with  about  as  little  enthusiasm 
remaining  as  may  be  imagined.  It  was  still  early,  however. 
I  was  of  an  age  when  such  damages  are  soon  repaired  and 
the  small  hours  came  before  Colonel  Ridgely  allowed  the 
Staff  of  the  General  to  stop  drinking  toasts  in  honor  of 
Lafayette  and  go  to  bed. 

"I  have,  of  course,  read  of  Murat  and  seen  pictures  of 
'le  Beau  Sabreur,'  and  have  no  doubt  he  was  the  ideal  he 
is  described  to  be.  But  Colonel  Ridgeley  was  his  equal. 
Nature  intended  this  Maryland  gentleman  for  a  cavalry 
officer.  About  the  middle  size,  perhaps,  without  a  spare 
pound  of  flesh,  all  sinew  and  with  a  corresponding  activity, 
quick  and  imperious  of  speech  and  as  a  gentleman  could  be, 
with  eyes  that  gleamed  when  he  became  excited,  and  withal 
a  splendid  horseman,  who  entered  into  all  the  feeling  of 
his  temporary  vocation,  Colonel  Ridgeley  was,  by  nature, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  121 

intended  for  a  soldier,  and  a  good  one  was  spoiled  by  his 
becoming  a  country  gentleman  and  a  member  of  the  Vol 
unteers  of  Anne  Arundel  County. 

"I  saw  a  good  deal  of  General  Lafayette  during  his 
short  visit  to  Baltimore.  As  General  Harper's  senior  Aide, 
I  was  necessarily  near  him  at  the  dinners,  at  the  review, 
when  I  arranged  with  him  about  the  presentation  of  the 
flag,  and  I  rode  on  the  side  of  the  coach  that  he  occupied 
on  the  ever  remembered  drive  to  Waterloo.  Of  course,  I 
looked  at  him  well.  He  was  tall  and  heavily  built,  walked 
with  a  cane,  and  limped  somewhat.  He  was  without  the 
energy  of  manner  I  would  have  expected  from  a  French 
man.  His  countenance  was  dull  rather  than  intelligent, 
and  when  he  spoke,  it  was  slowly  and  with  little  facial 
expression.  His  manner  was  kind  and  gentlemanly,  and 
what  he  said  seemed  to  be  with  deliberation.  General 
Harper  had  a  good  deal  to  say  to  him  at  the  dinner,  and 
I  was  close  to  them,  standing  behind  the  chair  of  Lafayette 
with  the  other  Aides.  George  Washington  Lafayette,  his 
son,  on  the  contrary,  was  more  like  a  Frenchman  in  his 
manner,  and  was  ready  and  apt  in  conversation.  But  he 
was  by  no  means  a  distinguished  looking  man.  There  is 
an  admirable  likeness  of  Lafayette  in  the  Capitol  at  Wash 
ington,  or  rather  there  was  such  a  likeness  there  some  years 
since.  It  hung  on  the  old  wall  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  The  impression  made  upon  me  by  Lafayette  at  the 
time  was  that  a  good  deal  of  the  attention  paid  to  him  was 
submitted  to  rather  than  enjoyed. 

"We  are  excited  now-a-days  by  the  coming  of  distin 
guished  persons;  but  there  has  never,  since  Lafayette's 
visit,  been  an  occasion  in  which  as  much  honest  enthusiasm 
has  been  displayed,  as  was  then  exhibited." 

It  was  during  this  trip  that  Congress  made  Lafayette  a 
present  of  $200,000. 


122  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Genera]  Harper  died  in  January  1825.  Mr.  Latrober 
as  First  Aide,  turned  over  the  papers  in  his  possession  to 
General  McDonald,  and  he  writes  to  General  McDonald: 

"The  appointment  I  had  the  honor  to  hold  on  the  staff 
of  the  late  Major-General  Harper  expired  at  his  death. 
.  .  .  .  The  delay  arose  from  a  wish  to  make  the  return 
complete  by  inserting  the  strength  and  arms  of  the  regiments 
of  the  14th  Brigade,  and  for  the  Brigade  of  artillery, 
for  which  no  return  has  been  made  up  to  the  27th  of  De 
cember.  Charges  have  been  preferred  against  Brigadier 
Generals  Smith  and  McLaughlin." 

He  continues  his  recollections  thus: 

"Although  I  had  ceased  to  take  an  active  part  in  mili 
tary  matters,  after  General  Lafayette's  advent,  yet  when 
'The  First  Baltimore  Light  Infantry'  determined  to  pay  a 
visit  to  Philadelphia,  the  first  visit  of  the  sort  that  had  yet 
taken  place,  I  was  asked  to  drill  them.  And  this  I  did 
nightly  during  an  entire  winter.  They  were  sturdy,  well- 
built  mechanics,  and  took  great  pride  in  being  taught,  and 
they  were  taught,  and  well  taught  too,  and  when  the  spring 
came,  they  were  no  disgrace  to  Baltimore,  to  say  the  least 
of  it.  I  had  them  in  perfect  order,  and  they  were  as  well 
set  up  as  old  soldiers.  It  was  a  labor  of  love  for  me  to 
teach,  and  with  them  to  be  taught.  I  remember  wishing 
that  I  had  an  opportunity  of  drilling  them  against  my  old 
company  at  the  Point.  It  had  not  been  my  design  to 
command  them  on  the  march,  but  to  let  that  be  done  by 
their  Captain,  John  Spear  Nicholas,  a  member  of  the  Barr 
and  in  every  way  competent.  But  they  insisted  I  should 
go,  and  thinking,  very  justly  too,  that  I  might  be  reluctant 
to  incur  the  expense  of  uniform  and  outfit,  they  prepared  the 
whole  for  me  without  my  knowledge,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  presented  left  me  no  alternative  but  to  take 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  123 

command.  We  had  a  glorious  time,  though  I  had  to  sup 
press  two  mutinies.  The  men  wanted  to  remain  a  day 
longer  in  Philadelphia  and  sent  word  to  me  that  if  I  wanted 
to  go  home  I  might  go  alone.  I  said  'Very  well,  then  we'll 
have  a  march  around  the  City, '  which  we  had,  and  it  ended 
on  the  upper  deck  of  the  steamer,  where  I  kept  them  going 
through  the  manual  for  the  edification  of  the  crowd  on  the 
wharf,  until  the  lines  were  cast  off  and  the  vessel  was  under 
way.  In  the  ranks  I  was  their  master;  out  of  the  ranks 
they  took  their  own  ways.  They  were  angry  to  a  man, 
the  privates,  when  they  saw  Philadelphia  fading  in  the  dis 
tance,  and  swore  they  would  stay  at  New  Castle  that  night. 
'Very  well,'  said  I,  when  this  was  told  me,  'we  must  at 
any  rate  march  into  the  town,  it  will  never  do  to  enter  it 
like  a  mob. '  There  was  a  good  deal  of  grumbling  and  some 
suspicion,  but  at  last  all  fell  into  line,  and  we  marched  with 
drums  beating  to  the  Court  House  and  then  to  the  out 
skirts,  when  I  wheeled  the  whole  into  line.  Then  wheeling 
the  first  platoon  to  the  right,  the  Captain  kept  it  moving 
ahead,  I  continuing  to  drill  the  remaining  platoons  at 
the  facings  and  the  manual  till  the  first  was  one  hundred 
yards  off,  when  I  ordered  the  second  platoon  to  march  in  the 
same  way.  I  brought  the  last  myself.  I  certainly  verified 
here  the  saying '  decide  and  govern. '  In  this  way  I  got  the 
whole  command  of  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  men 
across  the  Peninsula  as  far  as  the  Halfway  House,  on  the 
road  to  French  Town  that  night.  The  next  day's  march 
was  an  easy  one,  and  making  French  Town  in  time,  we 
returned  good  friends,  all  of  us,  to  our  home.  With  this 
campaign  I  ended  my  military  life.  I  have  often  thought 
that  I  ought  to  have  been  a  soldier.  How  I  should  have 
stood  the  test  of  warfare  I  cannot  say,  but  all  of  my  instincts 
were  in  this  direction;  even  now  I  feel  excited  by  a  drum, 


124  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

and  a  trumpet  or  a  bugle  sets  my  blood  to  run  in  faster 
currents. " 

An  account  of  this  trip  appears  in  the  Philadelphia  Pal 
ladium: 

"The  First  Baltimore  Light  Infantry  Company,  Captain 
Latrobe,  about  ninety  strong,  landed  from  the  steamboat 
at  Chestnut  street  wharf,  on  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  the 
first  day  of  May.  They  were  royally  entertained;  reviewed 
by  General  Cadwallader,  and  were  banqueted  in  high 
style.  The  standard  of  the  Light  Infantry  was  presented 
to  them  by  Col.  John  Eager  Howard.  ....  Thus  has 
terminated  the  visit  of  the  Baltimore  Light  Infantry,  a 
visit  that  has  done  much  to  beget  a  noble  and  kind  feeling 
and  bring  nearer  together  the  citizens  of  Baltimore  and 
Philadelphia. " 

On  May  10,  1827,  Mr.  Latrobe  wrote  a  letter  to  Lieut. 
Thomas  Barrett,  "Baltimore  Light  Infantry,"  the  National 
Guards,  thanking  them  for  the  resolutions  sent  to  him  and 
accepting  the  honorary  membership  conferred.  He  re 
signed  from  this  organization  in  1827.  He  says  that  for 
six  years  he  had  been  actively  engaged  as  a  member  of  the 
Militia,  but  that  he  finds  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  continue 
to  take  interest  in  military  matters,  and  will  not  again  join 
a  Company,  unless  there  is  war,  or  danger  of  war.  This 
resolution  was  not  kept,  for  on  October  12,  1835,  we  find 
the  command  of  a  regiment  of  volunteer  infantry  offered 
to  him  in  Baltimore;  the  committee  tendering  him  the 
command  was  composed  of  James  M.  Anderson,  James  E. 
Stewart  and  A.  W.  Thompson.  This  he  declined,  but  he 
must  have  subsequently  accepted  a  position,  because  on 
October  7,  1840,  we  find  the  following: — 


MONUMENT  TO  KOSCIUSZKO 

At  the  Military  Academy,  West  Point,  designed  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 


iO*  01 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  125 

"Captain  Latrobe,  10th  Ward,  City  Guard. 
"In  obedience  to  orders  from  General  O'Donnel,  you 
are  directed  to  hold  your  company  in  readiness  to  act  at 
short  notice,  should  occasion  require  it. 

(signed)    Wm.  Pinkney,  Col.  2  Reg.  G." 

There  is  an  order  from  the  Adjutant-General's  office, 
Annapolis,  April  8,  1840,  signed  by  Thos.  N.  Watkins, 
Adjutant-General,  to  Captain  Latrobe,  directing  that  one 
hundred  rifles  should  be  delivered  to  him.  The  following 
letter  is  among  his  papers: — 

"Headquarters,  Army  of  Occupation, 

Matamore,  June  29,  1846. 

"Your  views  and  appreciation  of  the  movements  of  the 
army  under  my  command  are  as  soldierlike  and  accurate 
as  if  you  had  been  a  participant,  and  I  gratefully  acknowl 
edge  to  you  the  expression  of  your  views.  I  am,  with  much 

respect, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 
Z.  Taylor,  B.   G. 
United  States  Army. " 
(President  1849-50) 

Mr.  Latrobe  wrote  a  description  of  three  great  battles, 
the  Battle  of  Buena  Vista,  February  22nd  and  23rd,  1846 
(it  was  this  article  to  which  General  Taylor  refers);  Seven 
Days  Battle,  June  26th  to  July  2nd,  1862;  Battle  of  Gettys 
burg,  July  3,  1863. 

It  would  appear  from  this  that,  as  already  stated,  Mr. 
Latrobe  kept  up  his  interest  in  military  matters.  He 
designed  Kosciuszko  's  Monument,  which  is  erected  at  West 
Point.  An  engraving  of  it  appears  in  American  Scenery, 
Vol.  1,  Folio  30,  West  Point,  by  N.  P.  Willis,  illustrated 


126  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

by  Wm.  B.  Bartlett,  and  is  here  reproduced.  A  letter 
from  Adjutant's  office,  U.  S.  Military  Academy,  September 
1,  1863,  written  to  Brig.  General  John  Gibbon,  says: 

"I  am  directed  by  the  Superintendent  to  acknowledge, 
through  you,  the  receipt  of  a  certificate  of  the  Academic 
Board,  relative  to  the  high  position  in  his  class  and  at  the 
Academy  of  Cadet  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  of  Maryland,  and 
also  a  copy  in  silver  of  a  medal  furnished  by  the  Corps  of 
Cadets  to  Cadet  Latrobe  in  recognition  of  his  services  in 
designing  Kosciuszko's  Monument.  The  Superintendent  has 
directed  both  to  be  placed  in  the  Museum  of  the  Academy. 
I  am,  General, 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 
Ed.  C.  Boynton." 

"I  cannot  now  fix  the  date,  but  it  must  have  been  in 
1824  or  1825,  that  I  saw  an  advertisement  in  a  New  York 
paper,  offering  a  prize  of  $50.00,  or  a  gold  medal  of  that 
value,  for  the  best  design  of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of 
Kosciuszko,  to  be  erected  at  West  Point.  The  name  of  the 
Polish  hero  had  been  suggested  by  the  legend  that  a  ledge 
of  rocks,  to  which  the  cadets  often  resorted,  overlooking 
the  North  River  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Plateau  had  been 
a  favorite  spot  of  his,  and  that  he  had  been  almost  hit  by 
a  cannon  ball,  whose  dent  in  the  granite  was  still  shown  to 
strangers."  (After  the  battle  of  Saratoga,  Colonel  Kos 
ciuszko  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  fortifications  at  West 
Point.)  "As  I  had  not  given  up  my  pencil,  I  became  a 
competitor,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to  succeed.  The 
Kosciuszko  monument  on  the  capital  of  the  North  Eastern 
bastion  of  Fort  Clinton  is  of  my  design.  But  a  grave  ques 
tion  arose  when  I  was  informed  of  my  success — should  I 


GOLD  MEDAL  WON  BY  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

'n  Competition  for  best  Design  of  a  Monument  to  Kosciuszko,  erected  at  West  Point 

At  the  lime  he  was  only  21  or  22  years  of  age 

(The  design  is  reproduced  on  the  medal) 


t 


^  a  \o  w^' 

sjo  \o  wvsvi  S^  to 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891 


127 


take  the  medal  or  the  money?  The  latter  was  greatly  needed, 
for  my  dear  mother  had  her  own  troubles  in  making  head 
way  against  narrow  means.  There  was  considerable  con 
sultation,  and  we  both,  my  mother  and  myself,  looked 
wistfully  at  the  money.  But  my  mother  settled  the  matter, 
saying, '  We  would  have  gotten  along  if  you  had  failed, 
we  could  get  along  still,  the  money  would  soon  disappear; 
the  medal  will  be  an  inheritance  for  your  children.'  So 
the  medal  came.  When  I  was  able  to  do  so,  I  got  silver 
duplicates  of  it  struck  at  the  United  States  Mint,  and  now 
each  of  you  owe  your  copy  to  your  grandmother's  counsel 
and  self-denial.  On  one  side  is  the  monument,  on  the  other 
the  words  'The  Corps  of  Cadets,  to  John  H.  B.  Latrobe. 
Detur  Digniori,  (Let  it  be  given  to  the  worthiest),  with  the 
date  1825.'  Where  so  much  Latin  was  picked  up  among 
the  Professors  I  never  could  guess.  After  the  design  was 
adopted,  the  original  plan  of  placing  the  monument  in  the 
garden  was  abandoned,  and  the  place  was  assigned  to  it 
which  makes  it  the  most  conspicuous  object  seen  in  the 
approach  to  the  Point  in  either  direction. 

APPOINTED  VISITOR  TO  WEST  POINT. 

"Among  the  events  of  my  life  that  I  look  back  to  with 
much  pleasure  was  my  appointment  by  General  Taylor, 
when  he  was  President,  as  one  of  the  Board  of  Visitors  to 
West  Point."  (Perhaps  his  descripton  of  the  Battle  of 
Buena  Vista  had  something  to  do  with  his  appointment.) 
"  There  were  several  old  cadets  on  the  Board,  Tyler,  Bennett 
King,  Jefferson  Davis  and  myself.  Mr.  Davis  did  not 
attend.  Horace  Mann  was  also  a  member,  Mr.  John 
L.  Gow,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  others  whose  names  I  have 
forgotten.  Very  unexpectedly  I  was  chosen  President, 
and  performed  the  duties  of  the  office.  General  Scott 


128  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

visited  the  Point  during  the  session  of  the  Board.  He  was 
under  a  cloud  at  the  time  after  his  return  from  Mexico, 
and  I  had  great  pleasure  in  getting  the  Board  to  call  on  him 
at  Coggens,  which  some  of  the  politicians  among  us  were 
unwilling  to  do.  Still  I  managed  it.  Quincy  A.  Gilmore 
was  the  head  of  the  Institution  at  the  examination — a 
place  I  had  once  occupied  myself.  Sheridan,  now  Lieut. 
General,  was  in  one  of  the  classes.  So  was  Jerome  Bona 
parte,  afterwards  distinguished  in  the  French  service  in 
the  Crimean  war.  Things  had  greatly  changed  from  what 
I  had  known  them  in  1818-22.  The  only  persons  still 
alive  were  the  Misses  Thompson,  at  whose  mother's  I 
had  boarded  some  thirty  years  before.  I  have  never  been 
able  to  free  myself  from  more  or  less  sentiment,  and  all  that 
was  in  me  was  aroused  as  I  sat  in  my  room  at  the  hotel, 
looking  up  the  Hudson,  and  going  over  all  these  thronging 
memories  of  the  interval  that  had  elapsed  since  I  was  a 
happy  boy  with  a  soldier's  temperament  and  a  soldier's 
life  before  me.  One  day  Horace  Mann  proposed  that  we 
should  test  the  ability  of  the  cadets  at  English  Composition, 
so  the  bugle  was  blown,  'Turn  out  the  first  class'  was 
called,  and  the  young  men  were  marched  to  the  drawing 
academy,  and  each,  with  pen  and  ink  and  a  sheet  of  letter 
paper  placed  before  him,  was  required  to  write,  fold  and 
address  a  letter  to  anyone  they  chose,  upon  any  subject 
they  chose,  in  twenty  minutes.  At  the  given  time  they 
commenced.  At  the  expiration  of  fifteen  minutes,  they  were 
informed  that  they  had  but  five  minutes  left  and  the  letters 
were  then  gathered  and  sent  to  the  Board  of  Visitors.  The 
result  was  better  than  was  to  have  been  expected,  though 
but  few  came  up  to  the  mark.  The  best  letter  was  written 
by  the  lowest  in  the  class,  who  addressed  it  to  the  board, 
lamenting  his  deficiencies,  and  suggesting  that  he  would 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  129 

make  a  good  cavalry  officer,  and  a  cavalry  officer  he  became, 
and  a  good  one  too.  The  Governor  of  Bermuda,  I  think 
it  was,  who  was  present  one  day  while  the  examination 
was  in  progress  and  sat  next  to  me,  asked  whether  social 
position  had  anything  to  do  in  the  selection  of  cadets. 
In  reply  I  pointed  to  two  young  men  who  were  then  pre 
paring  their  demonstrations  on  the  black  board,  one  of 
whom  was  the  son  of  a  sergeant  and  the  other  the  grand- 
nephew  of  Napoleon  the  1st.  I  took  my  report  to  General 
Taylor  and  on  that  occasion  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
brave  old  man.  I  had  reviewed  personally  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista,  and  he  told  me  that  he  had  believed  the  article 
to  be  written  by  an  eye  witness.  My  review  will  be  found 
in  a  pamphlet  published,  called  'Three  Great  Battles.' 

"One  of  the  battles  discussed  in  the  pamphlet  is  the 
Battle  of  Gettysburg,  which  was  written  while  General 
Gibbon,  who  was  wounded  there,  was  staying  at  'Fairy 
Knowe. '  I  read  the  letters  received  by  him  from  the 
officers  under  him,  and  had  the  advantage  of  his  verbal 
description  of  the  localities  and  the  events  up  to  the  moment 
when  he  was  wounded. 

"With  these  materials,  it  is  no  wonder  that  I  succeeded 
well  enough  to  be  complimented  by  General  Mead  and 
General  Mercy  of  Massachusetts  on  the  accuracy  of  my 
account,  and  when  Rothermel  painted  his  picture  of  the 
battle  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  he  adopted,  as  he 
wrote  to  me,  my  description  or  that  part  of  it  relating  to 
the  incident  which  I  made  prominent — when  Mead  came 
upon  the  ground  by  the  stone  fence,  and  was  told  by 
Hascall,  Gibbon's  Aide,  that  the  Confederates  were 
retreating.  The  descriptive  legend  which  accompanied 
the  picture,  when  it  was  exhibited,  contained  an  extract 
from  my  'Three  Great  Battles.'  It  reads: 


130  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Mead  stopped  to  speak  to  General  Gibbon's  Aide  (Hascall),  and 
said  in  his  sharp  way,  "How  is  it  going  here?"  or  something  that 
sounded  like  it.  He  was  told  that  the  attack  was  repulsed,  when 
he  repeated,  "What!  Is  the  assault  entirely  repulsed?"  When  the 
Aide  again  told  him  he  thought  it  was,  he  said,  "Thank  God,"  and 
made  a  motion  to  wave  his  hat,  but  did  not,  but  waved  his  right 
hand  and  hurrahed,  while  his  son  took  off  his  hat  and  hurrahed  like 
a  good  fellow. 

"I  do  not  know  why  I  should  not  relate  here  a  part  I 
had  in  making  my  dear  old  master  at  West  Point,  General 
Thayer,  a  Brigadier-General.  Why  may  not  a  mouse  tell 
the  story  of  the  nibblings  that  freed  the  lion? 

"This  was  during  the  late  war.  While  the  Generals  on 
both  sides  had  many  of  them  been  his  pupils,  and  were 
winning  laurels  on  the  strength  of  the  education  that  he 
had  superintended,  Colonel  Thayer,  on  the  retired  list,  was 
living  at  South  Brain  tree  in  Massachusetts,  a  quiet,  un 
known  life.  Various  attempts  had  been  made  to  secure 
for  him  Brevet  of  a  Brigadier,  that  he  might  at  any  rate 
have  'General  Thayer'  inscribed  upon  his  tomb.  Among 
his  intimate  friends  was  Mr.  George  Ticknor,  of  Boston,  a 
friend  of  mine  also,  and  when  I  happened  to  be  in  Boston 
on  one  occasion,  we  took  the  car  and,  going  to  South  Brain- 
tree,  found  Colonel  Thayer  in  wretched  health,  scarcely 
able  to  receive  us,  and  living,  as  he  said,  upon  the  soft 
parts  of  half  a  dozen  oysters  a  day.  This  was  during  the 
war.  When  we  left  him,  Mr.  Ticknor  expressed  his  regret 
that  among  all  of  those  who  were  constantly  receiving 
laurels  Colonel  Thayer  was  not  found,  although  Mahan 
(Professor)  and  other  of  his  army  friends  had  done  their 
best  to  have  the  injustice  remedied.  I  suggested  to  Mr. 
Ticknor  that  perhaps  something  might  be  done  by  a  memo 
rial  from  Boston,  and  said  that  if  he  would  get  one  up,  and 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  131 

have  it  signed  by  leading  men  in  Boston,  headed  by  Chief 
Justice  Bigelow,  I  would  take  it  to  Washington,  and  pre 
sent  it  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Stanton,  with  whom  I 
was  acquainted.  My  companion  liked  the  idea,  and  in 
due  season  sent  me  on  the  memorial,  and  I  went  with  it  to 
the  war  office.  Mr.  Stanton  was  at  a  cabinet  meeting  and 
could  not  be  interviewed,  so  I  went  to  General  Halleck's 
office,  he  being  the  General  in  command.  Here  I  met 
General  Cullum,  his  Chief  of  Staff,  who  gave  me  no  en 
couragement,  telling  me  of  the  ineffectual  efforts  for  the 
same  purpose  that  had  been  already  made.  Nothing 
daunted,  I  persisted  in  seeing  General  Halleck,  who  came 
from  an  inner  office  and,  without  even  asking  me  to  sit 
down,  heard  what  I  had  to  say,  and  told  me  the  thing  was 
impossible — that  there  was  a  cartload  of  such  applications — 
that  this  was  another  of  McClellan  's  men,  or  to  that  effect, 
and  that  he  could  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter.  In 
asmuch  as  I  was  not  in  the  army  and  had  no  fear  of  the 
General's  power,  I  persisted,  reminding  Halleck  of  what 
the  country  owed  Thayer,  etc.,  but  in  vain.  He  was  cold, 
brusque  and  unsympathetic,  and  turned  off  without  ordinary 
courtesy.  Cullum  and  I  had  to  chew  the  cud  of  disappoint 
ment.  However,  I  left  my  memorial,  notwithstanding 
Halleck's  indifference  to  it. 

"Of  course,  I  had  to  report  progress,  which  I  did  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Ticknor,  in  which  I  gave  the  events  of  my  visit 
in  detail.  Now  it  so  happened  that  Mr.  Ed.  Everett  was 
with  Mr.  Ticknor  when  the  latter  received  it,  and  the  two 
gentlemen  read  it  together.  Mr.  Everett  took  the  matter 
up  warmly,  said  it  was  a  shame  that  Colonel  Thayer 's 
services  were  not  recognized,  and  at  once  interested  Mr. 
Wilson,  Chairman  of  the  Military  Committee  in  the  Senate, 
in  whom  the  cause,  I  found,  had  a  most  efficient  friend,  and 


132  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Colonel  Thayer  was  confirmed  as  a  Brigadier-General  by 
brevet  the  next  day. 

"I  saw  him  the  following  summer,  restored  to  health, 
and  able  to  eat  the  green  corn  that  he  planted  with  his 
own  hands  the  day  I  dined  with  him.  So  much  for  the 
mouse's  doings. 

"I  have  General  Thayer 's  photograph  in  his  83rd  year, 
given  to  me  the  year  before  his  death  in  his  87th  year,  I 
believe.  In  my  West  Point  memoranda  there  is  a  copy 
of  a  letter  he  once  wrote  to  me.  The  letter  itself,  as  a 
catalogue  of  the  cadets  during  the  time  I  was  at  West  Point, 
is  an  heirloom  which  I  hope  my  children  will  preserve: 

"South  Braintree,  near  Boston, 

January  23, 1864. 
Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq., 

Counsellor  at  Law. 
My  dear  Sir: 

Seldom,  if  ever,  have  I  received  a  letter  more  gratifying  than 
yours  that  has  just  come  to  hand.  To  be  kindly  remembered  by 
those  who  were  under  my  care  at  West  Point  is  a  blessing  I  prize 
above  all  others,  and  doubly  gratifying  is  it  to  receive  such  a  token 
of  kind  remembrance  from  one  who  left  so  honorable  a  record  of 
himself  at  the  Academy,  and  whose  subsequent  career  has  for  many 
years  been  a  subject  of  great  pride  to  our  Alma  Mater.  Forty- 
two  years  have  not  effaced  from  my  memory  the  regret  and  dis 
appointment  I  felt  when,  near  the  close  of  1821,  your  resignation 
was  handed  to  me,  for  I  counted  on  you  as  a  future  officer  of  Engi 
neers.  You  were  then  the  head  of  your  class  without  a  rival.  Had 
you  waited  a  few  months  before  resigning  you  would  have  been  the 
recipient  of  the  highest  honor  and  prize  the  Academy  and  the  Gov 
ernment  could  bestow  as  the  reward  of  distinguished  scholarship 
and  merit.  No  one  can  now  doubt,  however,  that  you  made  a  wise 
choice  of  a  profession — as  a  civilian  you  have  rendered  a  greater 
amount  of  service  to  your  country  and  mankind,  and  have  caused 
higher  distinction  for  yourself  than  you  could  have  done  in  the  mili 
tary  service. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  133 

In  rummaging  among  some  books  I  have  laid  aside  as  of  little 
or  no  value,  I  met  with  a  small  volume  containing  light  catalogues 
of  Cadets,  commencing  with  the  first  published  and  including  of 
course  all  those  in  which  your  name  appears.  Thinking  it  might 
be  acceptable  to  you  I  send  it  herewith. 

In  reading  over  the  list  of  your  class  mates  they  come  up  before 
me  in  their  Cadet  uniforms  with  as  much  distinctness  seemingly  as 
though  I  saw  them  but  yesterday. 

The  history  of  the  class  is  a  remarkable  one.  It  was  the  largest 
of  any  on  admission,  consisting  of  130  members,  but  one  of  the  small 
est  on  graduation,  having  lost  ninety  of  its  members,  including  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  for  talent.  This  was  owing  mainly  to  the 
peculiar  condition  of  the  Academy,  it  being  then  on  its  passage 
from  chaos  to  order.  Nevertheless  after  all  its  losses  it  was  a  most 
respectable  class. 

There  are  many  subjects  touching  the  Military  Academy,  the 
war  and  the  state  of  the  Country  generally,  subjects  that  occupy 
my  mind  almost  exclusively,  in  relation  to  which  I  would  wish  to 
communicate  with  you,  but  am  compelled  to  pass  them  by. 

Should  you  ever  have  occasion  to  visit  Boston,  I  beg  you  to  afford 
me  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you.  My  place  is  on  the  Old  Colony  and 
Fall  River  Railroad,  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  South  Brain- 
tree  depot.  The  distance  from  Boston  is  eleven  miles  and  is  passed 
over  in  thirty  minutes.  Twelve  trams  pass  each  way  daily. 
Most  respectfully  and  affectionately  your  friend, 

S.  Thayer. 

Connected  with  the  above  is  the  following  letter  from 
Professor  Mahan. 

"West  Point,  May  5,  1864. 

"My  dear  Sir:- 

"  Every  friend  of  Colonel  Thayer  owes  you  thanks  for 
your  exertions  and  their  successful  results  for  even  the 
tardy  justice  done  to  his  great  services.  The  parable  of 
the  unjust  steward  seems  to  find  its  application  to  all  times; 
pertinacious  solicitation  obtaining  what  a  regard  for  justice 
should  have  prompted;  and  what  would  have  been  graceful 


134  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

if  spontaneously  yielded,  by  being  unreasonably  withheld 
robbed  of  its  principal  charm. 

"I  trust,  but  fear,  that  our  old  friend  has  yet  in  store  to 
enjoy  this  late  honor.  I  say  I  fear,  from  not  having  heard 
from  him  for  some  weeks,  and  his  last  letters,  which  bore 
the  marks  of  great  physical  debility,  having  informed  me 
that  he  had  only  then  commenced  to  rally  from  indisposition 
during  the  winter  which  had  reduced  him  to  a  mere  shadow. 

"With  my  best  thanks  for  what  you  have  done  in  this 
matter. 

Very  truly  yours, 

(signed)  D.  H.  Mahan." 

A  letter  from  John  Eager  Howard  from  Tolucca,  May  9, 
1848,  during  the  Mexican  War,  to  Mr.  Latrobe,  kept  by 
him,  shows  how  his  interest  in  military  matters  was  always 
with  him. 

"Dear  Sir:- 

"The  all  absorbing  subject  here  is  the  treaty  which  still 
drags  its  slow  length  along,  and  I  must  say  I  am  decidedly 
opposed  to  it,  for  no  other  reason  on  account  of  the  dis 
banding  of  the  army  that  will  take  place.  People  at  home 
have  no  idea  what  a  sacrifice  of  life  and  how  much  time  it 
takes  to  make  a  soldier.  One  of  the  men  we  have  here  now 
I  think  without  exaggeration  worth  ten  raised  should  the 
war  breach  out  again,  even  supposing  the  cost  no  more 
than  the  one,  and  they  would  not  cost  much  under  fifteen 
times  as  much.  Ther/e  is  a  certain  process  of  sickness, 
dying  off,  drilling  and  breaking  in  which  every  body  of 
men  has  to  go  through  before  they  learn  how  to  take  care 
of  themselves  and  become  able  to  stand  campaigning,  and 
to  live  on  the  soldier's  rations.  I  have  heard  it  said  that 
a  thousand  volunteers  have  died  on  the  Rio  Grande  for  not 
knowing  how  to  boil  beans  .  .  .  ." 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  135 

THE  IDEA  THAT  AN  ARMY  CAN  BE  CREATED  IN  TWENTY- 
FOUR  HOURS  IS  SO  ABSURD  THAT  IT  SHOULD  NOT  BE  NECESSARY 
TO  REFUTE  IT  WITH  THE  EXPERIENCES  OF  THOSE  WHO  HAVE 
SERVED  IN  THE  ARMY;  AND  YET  WE  HAVE  MEN  LIKE  MR. 

BRYAN  OPPOSING  PREPAREDNESS,  MAKING  STATEMENTS  THAT 
WE  COULD  ASSEMBLE  AN  ARMY  OF  A  MILLION  MEN  BETWEEN 
SUN-UP  AND  SUN-DOWN. 

Another  letter  shows  how  he  kept  in  touch  with  his 
military  friends : 

"Headquarters,  District  of  the  Nohtoway, 

Petersburg,  Va.,  September  7,  1865. 
"My  dear  Mr.  Latrobe: — 

"I  was  very  glad  today  to  greet  your  handwriting  from 
our  'Alma  Mater.'  I  should  have  written  to  you  before, 
but  hearing  you  had  left  Baltimore  did  not  know  where  to 
direct,  and  was  only  waiting  to  learn  of  your  return  home 
to  resume  our  correspondence.  I  spent  a  very  quiet  time 
in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  with  my  wife  and  children, 
balanced  between  hope  and  fear  in  regard  to  the  life  of  my 
poor  little  boy,  who  is  now,  I  am  happy  to  say,  somewhat 
improved,  but  very  thin.  I  trust  the  cool  weather  (if 
you  have  it  cool  up  there,  for  it  is  terribly  hot  here)  will 
enable  Mrs.  Gibbon  to  leave  there  and  get  to  Baltimore, 
where  she  will  feel  more  at  home  and  eventually  join  me  her,e 
after  the  frost,  if  I  stay  here  that  long,  which  I  have  at 
present  no  reason  to  doubt.  I  remained  with  my  wife  and 
children  to  the  last  moment  allowed  by  my  leave,  and  did 
not  remain  in  Baltimore  long  enough  to  run  out  and  see 
Mrs.  Latrobe,  which  I  otherwise  would  gladly  have  done, 
so  I  hope  you  will  make  my  apologies  to  her.  Need  I  say 
how  happy  I  should  have  been  to  have  met  you  at  West 
Point  and  accompanied  you  to  that  dinner  at  Mr.  Kemble's? 


136  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

I  can  fancy  how  you  enjoyed  it  and  also  the  explorations, 
old  yet  ever  new,  of  West  Point.  Did  you  happen  to  meet 
there  my  old  Chief  of  Staff,  General  Potter?  He  was  there 
a  short  time  ago  staying  with  the  Commandant,  Colonel 
Black,  and  doing  a  little  courting  on  his  own  account.  You 
speak  of  meeting  Schoolfield.  I  thought  he  had  gone  to 
Europe  under  orders.  Did  you  hear  anything  about  it? 
I  am  getting  along  very  quietly  and  pleasantly  here,  trying 
to  reconcile  civil  and  military  law  in  the  same  place — a 
very  difficult  matter,  by  the  way,  but  I  hope  it  will  come 
out  straight  in  the  end.  The  two  are,  of  course,  incompati 
ble,  but,  with  modification  and  no  disposition  to  be  a  despot, 
I  hope  to  have  no  trouble.  The  temper  of  the  people  is 
much  better  than  I  expected  to  find  and  much  better  than 
in  Richmond,  which  I  suppose  was  to  be  expected.  A 
number  of  gentlemen  have  called  on  me  and  cordially 
invited  me  to  their  houses.  Such  a  thing  is  almost  un 
known  in  Richmond.  Tell  Mrs.  Latrobe  I  think  the  ladies 
are  the  great  obstacle,  but  I  think  if  I  were  a  young  bachelor 
I  could  even  bring  some  of  these  over  to  the  right  side.  As 
it  is,  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  '  try  my  hand  upon  them. ' 
The  great  question  is  '  the  inevitable  negro, '  and  I  presume 
the  winter  will  be  the  turning  point  in  their  existence.  They 
are  flocking  into  town  in  great  numbers,  and  some  steps 
will  have  to  be  taken  to  get  rid  of  the  surplus  population 
before  the  cold  weather  comes  on,  and  I  shall  probably 
send  a  number  of  them  out  to  one  of  the  old  camps  three 
or  four  miles  from  camp,  where  cabins  and  wood  are  plenty. 
They  are  lazy  and  disinclined  to  work,  and  the  mischief  of 
it  is  that  the  negro  question  is  a  delicate  one  to  handle 
without  burning  one's  fingers  in  these  ticklish  times  of 
freedom  and  free  suffrage.  I  think  you  might  manage  to 
come  down,  pay  me  a  visit,  and  look  over  these  celebrated 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  137 

lines  with  me  now.  I  should  like  to  have  a  long  talk  with 
you,  and  consult  you  on  several  legal  questions  which  come 
up  now  and  then,  for  I  must  plead  guilty  to  being  no  lawyer, 
' nothing  but  a  soldier,'  with  his  occupation  gone.  I 
wish  I  had  something  to  fall  back  upon  when  they  come  to 
muster  me  out,  for  as  far  as  going  back  to  the  command 
of  a  company — the  thing  is  out  of  the  question,  so  if  you 
hear  of  an  opening  for  a  '  quiet,  sober  young  man  of  toler 
able  character,'  let  me  know.  Remember  me  most  kindly 
to  Mrs.  Latrobe  and  all  your  children  at  home,  and  those 
abroad  when  you  write.  What  is  the  last  news  from  my 

friend  Johnnie? 

Yours  vejy  truly, 

(signed)    JOHN  GIBBON."* 

This  short  recital  covers  the  actual  participation  in  mil 
itary  affairs  and  matters  connected  therewith,  but  the  stud 
ies  pursued  by  Mr.  Latrobe  at  West  Point  were  of  great  use, 
especially  in  his  profession  and  in  that  branch  known  as 
"patent  law,"  where  his  facility  with  his  pencil  and  the 
mechanical  knowledge  acquired  gave  him  a  great  advan 
tage.  His  eye  was  so  trained  as  an  engineer  that  with  his 
habit  of  observation  he  was  quick  to  observe  defects  of  any 
kind.  A  most  interesting  example  of  this  is  furnished  in 
the  following  letter: 

"Philadelphia,  31st  May,  1848. 

"  Ibaum  forte  via  sacra. "  I  met  you,  my  worthy  neighbor 
and  friend,  some  five  weeks  since,  and  we  strolled  over 
Market  Street  Bridge,  dawdling  and  twaddling  along, 
entirely  merged  in  the  usual  talk  of  such  a  stroll;  when, 
passing  by  the  Old  Town  Corner,  I  believe  it  is  Pitt  but 
will  be  Fayette  Street  (continued),  we  halted  and  took  a 
passing  squint  at  the  iron  bridge,  nearly  finished. 

*Gen.  John  Gibbon. 


138  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"You  may  not,  but  I  do,  and  very  distinctly  too,  remember 
your  saying  to  me,  with  emphasis,  'That  bridge  will  and 
must  fall,  it  is  against  every  principle  of  construction  and 
down  it  must  tumble,'  and  on  we  sauntered.  Now  I 
have  seen  that  'Jones'  Falls'  has  received  another  fall  in 
its  bosom,  and  I  was  immediately  reminded  of  our  con 
versation,  and  said  to  myself,  '  I  must  write  to  my  neighbor 
and  remind  him  of  our  walk  and  talk  and  of  his  prediction. 

So  do  I  now  do 

CHRISTOPHER  HUGHES." 

(Christopher  Hughes  represented  the  United  States  longer 
than  any  other  American  at  the  several  European  Courts 
in  successive  diplomatic  intercourse.) 

In  a  letter  from  Washington  Irving  we  find  him  referring 
to  Mr.  Latrobe  as  a  soldier. 

Mr.  Latrobe,  writing  in  1882,  says: 

"For  many  years  I  have  been  an  annual  visitor  at  West 
Point  Hotel,  and  have,  during  the  several  weeks  of  my  stay 
here,  attended  morning  and  evening  parade  and  guard 
mounting  as  regularly  as  when  discipline  compelled  me, 
and  now,  in  the  ebbing  tide  of  life  more  than  ordinarily 
prolonged,  look  forward  to  the  time  of  my  annual  pilgrimage 
with  a  feeling  that  has  not  weakened  by  the  lapse  of  years. " 

These  lines  aptly  describe  Mr.  Latrobe 's  feelings: 

My  heart  is  in  the  hills,  the  shades 

Of  night  are  on  my  brow; 
Ye  pleasant  haunts,  ye  quiet  glades, 

My  heart  is  with  you  now. 


CHAPTER  VI 

AFRICAN  COLONIZATION 

Mr.  Latrobe  left  very  copious  notes  on  the  subject  of 
African  Colonization.  It  was  a  work  in  which  he  took  a 
deep  interest,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  following  extracts: 

"When  I  lost  my  feeling  of — I  scarcely  know  what  to 
call  it,  it  was  not  timidity,  it  was  not  especially  reverence — 
well,  without  seeking  for  a  word,  when  I  got  to  be  on  easy 
terms  with  General  Harper,  he  talked  freely  with  me  on 
all  topics  that  interested  him;  and  the  two  leading  topics 
of  his  life  were  Internal  Improvement  and  African  Coloniza 
tion.  General  Bernard's  report  had  not  yet  demonstrated 
the  impracticability  of  a  canal  by  the  Potomac  route, 
between  the  waters  of  the  East  and  West;  and  Canals, 
stimulated  by  what  Pennsylvania  was  doing,  were  a  subject 
of  exceeding  interest  to  the  people  of  Baltimore.  There  were 
river  routes,  the  Potomac  and  the  Susquehanna;  and  General 
Harper  advocated  the  former  and  George  Winchester* 
Esquire,  the  latter,  at  a  great  meeting  held  in  the  Rotunda 
of  the  Exchange.  Of  course,  I  took  sides  with  the  General, 
and  the  interest  was  planted  in  me  then,  which  endures  to 
this  day  in  all  matters  of  internal  improvement.  I  am 
President  of  the  American  Colonization  Society  now,  as  a 
consequence  of  my  having  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  great  author 
ity  in  Maryland  in  this  connection. 

"General  Harper  made  it  a  point  to  introduce  me  to  all 
his  friends,  and  in  that  way  I  became  acquainted,  sooner 
than  I  otherwise  might  have  done,  with  leading  men  in 
Baltimore.  Some  of  them  I  now  see  before  me. 

139 


140  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

"It  was  while  I  was  reading  in  the  same  room  with 
General  Harper  that  there  entered  one  day  a  tall,  gaunt, 
square  shouldered,  spare,  light  mulatto,  who  announced 
himself  as  Abel  Hurd.  He  was  a  Bostonian  by  birth, 
and  a  seaman  by  profession.  In  a  voyage  to  the  East 
his  vessel  had  been  captured  by  the  Malays,  and  he  alone, 
if  I  recollect  rightly,  escaped  death,  owing  to  his  complexion. 
He  had  a  varied  fortune;  had  at  one  time  been  in  Cochin- 
China,  again  in  Tibet,  and,  after  passing  some  twenty 
years  in  the  East,  had  returned  to  America,  and  was  looking 
out  for  employment.  Some  one  had  heard  how  deeply 
interested  General  Harper  was  in  Africa  and  African  Coloni 
zation,  and  had  sent  Hurd  to  him.  About  this  time  there 
was  a  great  doubt  as  to  the  mouth  of  the  Niger;  whether 
it  was  to  be  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  Bight  of  Benin, 
and  whether  it  was  not  identical  with  the  Congo,  or  Zaire, 
south  of  the  line.  This  was  a  question  in  which  General 
Harper  was  interested,  and  he  determined  to  fit  out  Hurd 
and  send  him  northward  from  Liberia  until  he  struck  the 
river,  which  he  was  then  to  follow  to  its  mouth,  and  I  was 
deputed  to  superintend  the  outfit. 

"Kurd's  idea  was  to  take  as  little  baggage  with  him  as 
possible,  and  to  rely  upon  the  resources  of  his  wit  and  in 
genuity  in  making  his  way  among  the  interior  tribes.  He 
had  had  a  vast  experience,  and  he  directed  his  own  equip 
ment.  I  do  not  recollect  all  that  he  was  furnished  with, 
but  I  recollect  having  devised  a  hollow  cane,  in  the  top  of 
which  was  a  compass  and  the  tube  of  which  contained  papers 
and  pencils.  These  were  to  be  resorted  to  when  the  compass 
and  materials  openly  were  lost.  I  think  I  wrote,  at  General 
Harper's  dictation,  a  letter  of  instructions.  Had  Hurd 
lived  and  succeeded,  he  would  have  anticipated  the  Landers, 
Richard  and  John,  who  explored  the  Niger  in  1832-34. 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  141 

He  arrived  safely  in  Liberia,  and  made  several  short  ex 
cursions  into  the  interior,  but  he  had  a  theory  that  it  was 
necessary  to  train  himself  for  the  great  journey.  Absti 
nence  was  a  part  of  his  training.  It  was  a  mistake.  He  took 
the  acclimating  fever,  and,  although  he  recovered  from  the 
first  attack,  he  had  a  relapse  brought  on  by  some  impru 
dence  and  died. 

"It  was  about  this  time  that  I  became  acquainted  with 
Dr.  Eli  Ayres.  He  had  accompanied  Captain  Stockton 
when  the  latter  made  the  purchase  of  Liberia  from  the 
natives,  and,  returning  to  Baltimore,  came  to  see  General 
Harper  as  the  center  of  Colonization  in  Maryland.  The 
Doctor  was  a  man  below  the  common  size,  with  prominent 
features,  a  keen  black  eye,  and  a  complexion  proper  to  a 
fever  and  ague  patient,  without  intervals  of  health.  But 
he  was  every  inch  a  man,  and  was  deeply  imbued  with  the 
Colonization  scheme.  He  talked  by  the  hour  to  General 
Harper  in  a  high,  cracked  voice  and  nasal  tone,  and  with  a 
quaintness  and  originality  of  expression  that  was  most 
amusing.  An  able  physician,  he  was  at  the  same  time  a 
kind,  warm  hearted  man.  One  day  after  he  had  described 
the  localities  around  Cape  Mesurado,  General  Harper,  who 
saw  that  I  had  been  an  attentive  listener,  asked  me  if  I 
could  turn  my  West  Point  knowledge  to  account  and  make 
a  map  of  the  country  from  what  the  doctor  might  tell  me. 
So  the  doctor  and  I  went  to  work,  and  we  got  up  a  map, 
the  doctor  constantly  disfiguring  my  paper  with  broad  and 
deep  indentations  that  he  would  make  with  a  long  thumb 
nail.  When  the  drawing  was  completed  it  was  put  into  the 
hands  of  B.  T.  Welch,  the  engraver,  who  soon  after  sent 
General  Harper  a  proof,  on  which  the  lettering  was  to  be 
indicated. 

"The  General  had  the  baptism  of  a  new  country  thus 


142  JOHN   H.   B.   LATROBE 

given  to  him;  but  as  I  had  made  the  map,  he  said  it  was  but 
faif  that  I  should  have  a  hand  as  one  of  the  sponsors;  and 
it  was  understood  that  we  should  stand  as  such  alternately. 
There  was  some  difficulty  in  selecting  the  name  of  the  Ter 
ritory.  Several  names  were  suggested — among  others  Fred 
ericks — when  the  General  said,  "The  name  of  a  free  man  in 
Latin  is  'Liber,'  cannot  something  be  made  out  of  that?" 
And  after  a  while,  and  weighing  numerous  names  from 
this  root,  Liberia  was  adopted  and  written  down  accord 
ingly.  My  turn  came  next,  when  I  proposed  Monroe,  the 
name  of  the  then  President,  which  in  like  manner  was 
softened  into  Monrovia;  and  so  we  went  on  until  the  baptism 
was  completed.  The  engraving  of  the  names  then  followed, 
and  you  will  find  in  the  old  desk  at  '  Fairy  Knowle'  a  proof 
after  lettering  of  the  first  map  of  Liberia  ever  made.  At 
the  next  meeting  of  the  American  Colonization  Society 
the  nomenclature  was  formally  adopted. 

"General  Harper's  death  inflicted  an  irreparable  loss  on 
Colonization.  Dr.  Ayres  and  myself  felt  that  its  right  arm 
was  severed  from  its  body  in  Maryland.  But  we  did  not 
give  it  up.  There  were  other  warm  friends  who  were  will 
ing  to  help  it  forward.  I  cannot  now  recall  in  order  all 
that  I  did  for  it.  It  was  the  one  thing  then,  and  has  ever 
been  the  one  thing  outside  of  my  lawyer 's  calling,  to  which 
I  have  devoted  myself.  I  do  not  remember  when  it  was  that 
I  first  became  acquainted  with  the  authorities  at  Wash 
ington.  I  think  it  was  when  Charles  Harper  and  I  attended 
an  annual  meeting  as  representatives  from  Baltimore,  and 
when  I  made  a  speech,  Mr.  Clay  in  the  chair,  advocating 
a  settlement  at  Cape  Palmas.  I  had  picked  up  from  Ayres 
and  from  parties  in  Baltimore,  especially  one  Captain  Cooke, 
who  had  been  a  traveler,  perhaps,  more  than  a  trader,  upon 
the  west  coast,  a  great  many  facts,  which  gave  me  the  notion 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  143 

that  Cape  Palmas  was  a  proper  place  for  a  colony.  I  had 
heard,  too,  a  good  deal  about  the  Island  of  Bulama;  and  I 
had  a  theory  about  settling  Northern  negroes  at  Bulama, 
those  from  the  Middle  States  at  Mesurado,  and  those  from 
the  South  at  Cape  Palmas. 

"My  speech  on  this  subject  is  in  one  of  the  early  volumes 
of  the  African  Repository. 

"I  was  made  a  Mason  in  1825,  or  thereabouts,  and  con 
ceived  the  idea  of  getting  the  Masons  to  help,  and  a  good 
many  subscriptions  of  $10  each  were  obtained  in  con 
sequence.  I  wrote  a  tale,  too,  in  the  Masonic  connection, 
which  is  to  be  found  also  in  the  Repository. 

"I  suggested  the  appointment  of  a  committee  in  Baltimore 
to  take  charge  of  the  interests  of  the  society  there,  and  my 
colleagues  were  Charles  Harper,  John  I.  Lloyd,  Charles 
Howard,  and,  I  think,  Judge  Brice.  I  did  the  work,  how 
ever,  and  there  was  no  expedition  that  left  Baltimore  in 
those  days  that  I  did  not  superintend.  Someone  always 
has  to  do  the  work  in  all  bodies  of  men  and  I  was  willing 
and  did  it  here. 

"I  remember  our  committee  had  a  meeting  of  the  colored 
people  to  consider  the  subject.  It  was  held  in  the  Sharp 
Street  African  Church.  Harper  wrote  the  address,  and  I 
spoke,  and  was  answered  by  an  intelligent  whitewasher, 
as  black  as  the  ace  of  spades,  who  took  the  opposite  side. 
He  was  answered  by  Fitzhugh  Ravenswood,  a  Virginia 
gentleman  of  gallant  bearing,  handsome  person  and  great 
eloquence.  The  meeting  passed  the  resolutions  appended 
to  the  address,  and  there  was  a  sensation  at  the  time.  But 
such  sensations  soon  die  out,  and  so  did  this. 

"About  1831  the  Colonization  feeling  in  Baltimore  had 
become  very  dull  and  people  were  disposed  to  give  up  the 
scheme  as  a  bad  job,  when  there  came  to  Baltimore  Robert 


144  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

S.  Finley,  the  son  of  the  Finley  of  New  Jersey,  to  whom 
the  American  Colonization  Society  owed  its  origin.  Along 
with  him  was  Mr.  Elliott  Cresson  of  Philadelphia,  an  ardent 
supporter  of  the  cause.  They  called  on  me  as  one  who  was 
known  to  be  a  Colonizationist,  to  see  what  could  be  done  in 
the  State.  Although  I  discouraged  them  they  persisted, 
and  at  last  I  agreed  to  call  on  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nevins  and  ask 
the  use  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  This  was 
given  and  a  meeting  was  held.  I  introduced  Finley,  he 
carried  the  audience  away,  all  present  became  Colonization- 
ists,  and  an  adjourned  meeting  was  held  in  St.  Paul's 
Church.  A  State  Colonization  Society  was  formed  at  once, 
and,  in  place  of  filling  the  Board  with  clergymen,  the 
directors  chosen  were  business  men  of  intelligence  and 
character — a  good  business  arrangement,  but  one  that 
prejudiced  the  Society  then  and  ever  afterwards  with  the 
clergy.  An  agent  was  appointed,  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty  emigrants  were  sent  to  Liberia  in  the  ship  '  Lafayette. ' 
And  as  many  more  could  have  been  obtained.  The  emi 
grants  were  not  treated  as  they  should  have  been  on  their 
arrival  in  the  colony.  The  reports  were  unfavorable,  and 
the  Society  determined  to  send  no  more,  and  the  cause,  as 
above  stated,  went  to  sleep  in  Baltimore.  Afterwards, 
however,  a  schooner,  the  'Orion,'  was  dispatched  with  a 
few  colonists  and  some  supplies,  carrying  out  with  it  Dr. 
James  Hall,  who  on  his  arrival  in  Africa  entered  the  service 
of  the  American  Colonization  Society  as  a  physician. 

"The  expedition  of  the  'Orion'  led  to  important  results. 
Dr.  Hall  was  sent  down  the  coast  in  a  schooner  belonging 
to  the  colony  to  buy  rice,  and  was  becalmed  off  Cape  Palmas. 
It  so  happened  that  there  was  on  board  a  copy  of  the  African 
Repository  for  1828  that  contained  my  speech  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  American  Colonization  Society  urging  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  145 

purchase  of  Cape  Palmas.  Dr.  Hall  had  read  it  for  want  of 
something  better  on  board,  and,  recollecting  it  when  he 
found  where  he  was,  determined  to  go  ashore  and  see  what 
probability  there  was  of  such  a  settlement  as  I  had  proposed. 
He  found  things  even  better  than  I  had  imagined  them  to 
be,  and  when  he  got  back  to  Monrovia,  he  wrote  to  Dr. 
Ayres,  whom  he  had  left  as  agent  of  the  State  Society,  cor 
roborating  all  my  statements  and  urging  that  a  colony 
should  be  founded  at  the  place  I  had  indicated.  When  the 
letter  reached  Baltimore  Dr.  Ayres  was  dead,  and  it  was 
sent  to  the  corresponding  secretary — myself.  I  at  once 
took  the  matter  up,  worried  the  members  about  it,  until 
I  got  the  nickname  in  the  board  of  'Cape  Palmas,'  and 
finally  succeeded  in  persuading  them  to  send  out  an  ex 
pedition,  purchase  Cape  Palmas  from  the  natives,  and  found 
a  colony  there.  When  this  was  determined  on,  the  managers 
of  the  State 's  appropriation  agreed  to  supply  the  funds  that 
were  necessary.  The  brig  'Anne'  was  chartered.  Mr. 
Solomon  Etting,  an  old  merchant,  entered  into  the  matter 
heartily,  so  did  my  friends,  Charles  Harper  and  Charles 
Howard,  and  Cape  Palmas  became  a  favorite.  I  mean  the 
idea  of  the  colony  there. 

"I  have  a  regular  diary  beginning  on  the  9th  of  October 
1832,  which  I  kept  up  rather  punctually  for  some  years,  and 
looking  over  it  today  I  find  references  to  transactions  that 
seem  to  suggest  the  busy  life  of  a  professional  man.  Colon 
ization  figures  somewhat  largely.  The  Southhampton 
Massacre  had  created  a  great  excitement,  and  the  negro 
question  had  been  increasing  in  importance.  Maryland 
had  made  an  appropriation  of  $200,000  to  be  expended  at 
the  rate  of  $10,000  per  annum  for  Colonization  purposes 
under  the  supervision  of  three  commissioners,  Moses  Shep- 
pard,  Charles  Howard  and  Nathaniel  Williams,  all  members 


146  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

of  the  Maryland  State  Colonization  Society,  of  which  I  was 
then  the  corresponding  secretary  and,  in  fact,  the  factotum. 
The  management  of  the  American  Colonization  Society 
at  Washington  had  not  been  satisfactory  to  the  friends  of 
Colonization  in  Maryland.  Money  had  been  raised  in 
Baltimore  to  a  large  amount  in  the  incipiency  of  the  Society, 
as  well  as  afterwards,  and  as  was  natural  the  disposition  of 
it  was  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  contributors. 

"In  the  meanwhile  a  good  deal  had  to  be  done.  The 
Colony,  to  be  independent  of  the  American  Colonization 
Society  and  to  be  the  creation  of  the  State  Society,  had  to 
foe  called  '  Maryland  in  Liberia, '  a  suggestion  of  Robert  S. 
IFinley,  who  happened  to  come  along  while  we  were  busy  in 
making  preparation  for  the  voyage.  It  was  necessary  to 
provide  a  settlement  with  a  government  to  give  it  laws. 
This  I  undertook  to  do.  So  I  prepared  a  charter  containing 
a  Bill  of  Rights,  to  begin  with.  I  studied  the  charters  and 
constitutions  of  the  different  states  of  the  United  States  and 
selected  the  best,  or  made  one  up  from  the  best  of  them. 
I  then  took  Nathan  Danes'  ordinance  of  1787  for  the  govern 
ment  of  the  Northwest  Territory  and  modified  it  until  I 
fancied  it  would  do  for  the  Maryland  colony.  I  introduced 
a  clause  into  the  Bill  of  Rights  making  it  a  penal  offense 
to  drink.  In  the  ordinance  I  made  real  and  personal  prop 
erty  assets  in  the  hands  of  the  administrator  without  dis 
tinction,  save  that  the  personal  property  was  to  be  resorted 
to  in  the  first  instance.  And  I  would  have  done  away  with 
the  trial  by  jury  in  civil  cases,  but  was  deterred  by  a  decent 
respect  for  the  opinions  of  mankind.  I  forget  all  the 
modifications  I  made  in  existing  systems;  but  there  were 
others  than  those  here  mentioned,  which  I  have  no  means  at 
hand  to  verify.  It  was  a  rare  opportunity  to  a  young  lawyer 
to  lay  the  foundations  of  what  might  grow  to  be  a  great 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  147 

nation,  and  I  did  the  best  I  could.  I  had  the  constitution 
and  the  Bill  of  Rights  written  on  a  large  sheet  of  parchment 
by  the  best  penman  in  Baltimore,  and  the  ordinance  for 
the  temporary  government  was  copied  from  my  rough  MS. 
into  a  quarto  blank  book  by  a  young  man  that  I  had  shut 
up  in  my  library  at  my  dwelling,  where  he  could  work 
without  interruption  until  it  was  finished;  for  there  was  not 
an  hour  to  spare.  The  work  was  then  submitted  to  the 
Board  of  Managers,  who  adopted  it  in  gross,  on  their  very 
complimentary  faith  in  the  author,  and  the  seal  of  the  so 
ciety  was  attached  to  the  parchment,  the  riband  interlaced 
in  the  sheet  and  passing  through  the  tin  box  containing  the 
wax  being  a  blue  waist  riband  of  Mrs.  Latrobe.  The  Presi 
dent  of  the  society  then  was  Mr.  George  Hoffman,  whose 
bold  hand  was  not  unlike  that  of  John  Hancock  on  the 
Declaration  of  Independence;  and  when  all  the  directors 
had  signed  the  instrument  in  its  general  appearance  it  was 
not  unlike  that  celebrated  document. 

"I  do  not  tell  this  story  in  vanity,  but  it  is  necessary  to 
state  the  facts,  and  I  have  done  so  without  exaggeration. 
In  all  societies  someone  must  do  the  work.  I  was  willing 
to  do  it  here,  and  hence  I  suppose  my  prominence. 

"But  I  run  a  little  ahead  of  my  story.  After  the  expe 
dition  was  determined  on,  the  vessel  chartered  and  emigrants 
engaged,  we  were  without  a  leader  that  we  were  satisfied 
with.  We  had  one  if  we  could  do  no  better,  but  he  was  not 
the  right  man  and  we  all  knew  it.  To  have  sent  the  expedi 
tion  off  with  him  would  have  been  a  pis  oiler.  I  was  perhaps 
more  uncomfortable  than  anyone  else  now,  for  I  thought  I 
knew  what  was  wanted,  and  felt  too  that  we  had  not  what 
was  required.  At  times  I  almost  regretted  having  got  the 
affair  up. 

"Now  just  at  this  time  a  most  singular  coincidence  took 


148  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

place.  I  have  often  thought  I  should  call  it  Providential, 
not  accidental.  In  the  midst  of  my  anxiety  about  a  leader, 
I  received  a  message  in  my  office  from  Dr.  Smith,  stating 
that  a  gentleman  who  was  too  ill  to  leave  the  house  wanted 
to  see  me.  On  following  the  servant  that  brought  the 
message  to  Dr.  Smith,  I  found  there  a  lame,  sick  man  on  a 
couch  who  introduced  himself  to  me  as  Dr.  James  Hall, 
who  had  just  returned  from  Liberia,  and  who  wanted  to 
see  me  about  a  claim  against  the  American  Colonization 
Society.  Instead  of  giving  him  advice  about  his  claim,  I 
told  him  in  a  few  words  of  the  receipt  of  his  letter  already 
mentioned,  its  influence  on  our  society,  and  the  getting  up 
of  the  expedition,  together  with  our  want  of  a  leader,  con 
cluding  my  narration  with  the  question,  'And  now,  Doctor, 
will  you  go  back  to  Africa  and  be  the  founder  of  Maryland 
in  Liberia?'  Dr.  Hall:  'I  will.'  Mr.  Latrobe:  'When 
will  you  go?'  Dr.  Hall:  'At  once.  No,  I  must  see  my 
two  children  in  Vermont;  I  can  do  that  in  a  week,  and  then 
I  am  ready.'  Mr.  Latrobe:  'Set  out  to  see  them  tomorrow; 
be  absent  one  week,  and  get  on  board  the  "Ann"  as  soon  as 
you  return!'  Dr.  Hall:  'I  will  be  on  hand,  be  sure  of  it.' 
And  so  Dr.  James  Hall  became  the  founder  of  Maryland 
in  Liberia.  He  was  as  good  as  his  word.  He  went  on 
board,  or  was  carried,  a  sick  man,  on  board  the  day  after 
his  return,  and  sailed  in  the  'Ann'  and  founded  the  colony. 
"For  years  afterwards  I  conducted  the  correspondence 
with  regard  to  it,  and  took,  indeed,  the  most  active  part  in 
everything  that  related  to  it  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic; 
writing  the  reports,  visiting  Annapolis  every  winter  to  hold 
the  annual  meeting  of  our  society  there,  and  preventing 
any  interference  with  the  colonization  taxes.  And  this 
continued  until  1853,  or  until  I  was  chosen  President  of 
the  American  Colonization  Society,  when  I  resigned  my 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  149 

connection  with  the  State  institution.  It  was  not  long 
after  the  Colony  was  founded,  that  Simleh  Ballah,  King 
Freemans  Messen,  came  to  Baltimore  to  obtain  a  code  of 
laws  for  his  people.  We  received  him  in  state,  heard  his 
story,  and  Mr.  Hugh  D.  Evans  and  I  prepared  the  simple 
code  that  was  carried  to  Africa  and  adopted  by  King 
Freemans,  the  native  sovereign,  at  Cape  Palmas.  The 
volumes  of  the  reports  of  the  Maryland  State  Colonization 
Society  may  be  turned  to  for  a  number  of  facts  in  this 
connection,  if  you  are  anxious  to  know  more  about  it.  Some 
times  I  have  thought  when  the  history  of  Liberia  shall  be 
written,  my  name  may  appear  more  than  once  in  it. 

"It  was  while  I  was  President  of  the  State  Society,  that 
Governor  Russwurm  of  the  Maryland  Colony  came  to 
Baltimore,  when  the  Board  of  Directors  gave  a  very  hand 
some  dinner  and  drank  his  health — beloved  man  as  he  was, 
this  was  a  brave  thing  in  those  days.  But  in  truth,  African 
Colonization  is  a  thread  which  is  to  be  found  woven  through 
out  the  web  of  my  life.  After  Dr.  Hall  left  the  Govern 
ment,  we  appointed  Dr.  Holmes  as  a  temporary  Governor, 
and  gave  the  place  permanently,  after  a  brief  discussion, 
to  John  B.  Russwurm,  the  first  colored  Governor  or  agent 
of  the  cause  of  colonization  on  the  coast.  I  had  the  intelli 
gence  to  see  that  sooner  or  later  white  agencies  must  cease, 
and,  as  we  had  a  proper  man  in  Russwurm,  proposed  we 
should  give  him  the  appointment. 

"One  of  the  most  important  incidents  of  my  term  of 
office  was  the  correspondence  with  the  American  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  whose  missionaries  at  Cape  Palmas  claimed 
exemption  from  military  service  for  such  of  our  colonists 
as  were  employed  by  them.  Dr.  Anderson  came  to  Balti 
more  to  see  me  on  the  subject,  contending  that  we  were 
two  benevolent  societies,  meeting  in  a  savage  country, 


150  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

the  agents  of  neither  of  which  could  claim  or  exercise  author 
ity  as  regards  the  other,  directly  or  indirectly.  The  ground 
I  took  was  that  the  Maryland  Society  was,  by  purchase, 
the  government  de  jure  et  de  facto  of  the  territory,  and 
that  the  missionaries  thereunder,  while  they  were  on  our 
soil,  were  exempt  from  military  duty  by  courtesy  only.  I 
was  right  in  this,  and  it  was  so  admitted,  and  Governor 
Russwurm  was  the  man  to  maintain  the  doctrine  in  Africa 
that  I  insisted  on  in  America. 

"After  the  death  of  Mr.  Clay,  the  office  of  President  of 
the  American  Colonization  Society  became  vacant,  and  I 
was  chosen  to  succeed  him;  and  thus  became  the  fifth  in 
line  of  succession,  beginning  with  Bushrod  Washington 
and  continuing  with  James  Madison,  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton  and  Henry  Clay.  As  these  had  all  been  Honor- 
ables,  the  title  of  Honorable  began  to  be  lashed  to  my  name. 
I  owed  my  elevation  to  this  position  to  my  connection  with 
colonization  for  Maryland  for  a  number  of  years,  and  I 
have  been  elected  and  reflected  from  1853  to  the  present 
date — 1879.  My  predecessors  were  distinguished  men,  whose 
names  gave  eclat  to  the  society.  I  had  nothing  of  the  sort 
to  justify  my  election,  but  a  working  President  was  wanted, 
and  I  have  worked  accordingly.  I  have  written  a  good 
deal,  and  spoken  more,  and  when  I  have  passed  away,  my 
children  may  not  be  unwilling  to  recognize  my  labor  in 
adding  to  the  reputation  of  their  father.  Their  sympathies 
have  been  in  other  directions,  and  none  of  the  seven — six 
now — have  ever  felt  an  interest  in  the  subject.  I  have  al 
ways  felt  proud  of  the  position. 

GEORGE  BANCROFT. 

"1623  H  Street,  Washington,  D.  C. 

April  n,  1880. 
"My  dear  Contemporary. 

"I  have  read  with  delight  your  charming  historical  sketch  of 
Liberia.  You  have  stood  forth  always  as  the  Champion  and  support 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  151 

of  that  Republic;  your  part  in  it  is  greater  and  more  persistent  than 
that  of  any  man  of  my  acquaintance;  and  now  in  your  hale  old  age 
you  deserve  the  honors  of  your  career. 

Yours  till  death, 
George  Bancroft.'* 

"Washington,  D.  C.,  November  9,  1881. 
"Hon.  John  H.   B.  Latrobe, 
"My  dear  Mr.  Latrobe. 

"Baltimore  deserves  to  have  had  illustrious  ancestors,  she  knows 
how  to  honor  their  memory  so  well;  she  will  always  abound  in  able 
citizens,  for  she  proves  herself  determined  to  render  just  tribute  to 
those  who  distinguish  themselves  most.  For  these  reasons  the 
memorial  volume  is  most  welcome;  doubly  welcome  since  it  becomes 
a  memorial  of  your  own  long  friendship  for 

Your  ever  very  faithful, 
George    Bancroft. " 

"A  very  gratifying  note  from  Judge  Charles  E.  Phelps; 
in  regard  to  my  paper  on  'Maryland  in  Liberia/  read 
before  the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  March  9,  1885. 

"Superior  Court  of  Baltimore  City. 

Baltimore,  March  10,  1885.. 
"Hon.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe. 
"My  dear  Sir:— 

"I  feel  that  I  cannot  remain  content  with  the  conventional  vote  of 
thanks  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  last  night,  which  falls 
short  of  expressing  what  is  due  to  you,  not  only  for  the  interesting 
and  important  contribution  to  history — the  history  of  human  progress 
— which  was  its  immediate  occasion,  but  still  more,  and  in  an  in 
finitely  wider  sense,  for  your  lifelong  efforts  in  the  cause  which  your 
paper  so  ably  commemorates. 

The  leading  impression  left  upon  my  mind,  as  I  mentioned  to> 
friends  upon  leaving  the  rooms  last  night,  was  one  of  surprise  at  the 
extraordinary  combination  of  the  sentimental  with  the  practical* 
without  which  the  enterprise  could  not  have  been  projected  in  the 
first  place,  nor  successfully  prosecuted  in  the  next.  Not  less  remark 
able,  I  thought,  was  the  uncompromising  tenacity  of  purpose — the. 


152  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

vigorous  and  sustained  will  power — that  carried  the  scheme  over  all 
obstacles  to  its  aim. 

Whatever  may  be  the  destiny  in  the  future  of  "Maryland  in  Liberia," 
and  whether  or  not  the  sanguine  prediction  ventured  in  my  Sesqui- 
Centennial  address  is  destined  to  become  a  reality,  one  thing  is 
certain;  and  that  is,  the  world  will  be  the  better  for  the  effort  and 
the  example. 

I  received  your  favor  of  late  date,  and  am  very  much  obliged  for 
the  thoughtful  suggestions  contained. 

Very  truly  yours, 
(signed)     Ch.  E.  Phelps. 

We  have  seen  from  the  quotation  of  Mr.  Latrobe  's  auto 
biography,  that  he  first  became  interested  in  the  question 
of  colonization  in  1822. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  story  of  his  life,  I  think  it 
right  to  give  this  subject,  to  which  he  devoted  so  much  of 
his  life,  proper  consideration. 

Recognizing  as  he  did,  and  as  I  do,  that  there  are  many 
who  will  consider  his  efforts  Quixotic  and  of  no  effect, 
a  careful  examination  of  the  question  in  some  detail  will 
help  in  ascertaining  if  it  is,  in  fact,  of  no  particular  advantage 
that  he  had  exerted  so  much  effort  and  spent  so  much  time 
for  a  barren  result.  Although  it  does  not  detract  from  a 
hero  that  he  should  perish  without  accomplishing  his  object, 
nevertheless  in  this  era  we  are  prone  to  judge  by  results. 

Mr.  Latrobe  spent  about  one  quarter  of  his  working 
hours  during  ten  years  of  his  life  in  advocating  Colonization. 
At  a  meeting  held  by  the  Maryland  Historical  Society 
in  memory  of  Mr.  Latrobe,  a  memorial  was  presented,  and, 
among  other  addresses  there  was  one  made  by  Dr.  Daniel 
C.  Gilman,  President  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University,  in 
which  he  says,  in  reference  to  Mr.  Latrobe: 

"Probably  his  greatest  distinction,  outside  of  his  pro 
fessional  life,  was  acquired  in  promoting  the  cause  of  African 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  153 

Colonization  in  ante-bellum  days.  Events  have  diverted 
the  public  attention  from  this  chapter  of  American  history, 
and  from  the  efforts  which  were  made  by  Mr.  Latrobe  and 
his  fellow  workers,  under  the  leadership  of  Henry  Clay, 
to  establish  well  ordered  colonies  for  the  blacks  on  the 
Western  Coast  of  Africa.  It  seems  to  me  not  impossible 
that,  as  the  Dark  Continent  is  opened  to  civilization,  the 
germs  of  civil  government  that  were  planted  in  Liberia 
will  produce  a  harvest.  If  that  time  does  come,  the  work 
of  Mr.  Latrobe  will  be  more  fully  appreciated. " 

In  order  to  understand  Mr.  Latrobe 's  position  in  this 
matter  and  his  views,  it  is  necessary  to  take  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  slavery  and  African  Colonization,  especially  as  it 
affected  the  State  of  Maryland. 

Slavery  has  existed  from  the  earliest  times.  It  was  the 
result  of  war — the  conquered  became  the  slaves  of  the 
conqueror.  As  civilization  progressed,  this  condition  was 
somewhat  mitigated.  The  capture  of  a  people,  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  using  them  as  slaves,  was  confined  to 
the  negro  race.  The  negroes  are  depicted  in  the  Pyramids 
as  the  hod-carriers.  Negroes  were  captured  and  sold  in 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  in  Spain  as  slaves. 

The  first  cargo  of  negro  slaves  sold  in  this  country  was 
brought  here  by  a  Holland  ship  and  sold  in  Virginia  in 
the  year  1619.  Massachusetts  led  in  establishing  slavery 
by  statute  law  in  America. 

Negroes,  Indians  and  other  classes  of  slaves  existed  in 
all  the  original  States,  until  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
states  passed  laws  from  time  to  time,  prohibiting  the  in 
stitution.  The  importation  of  negroes  was  almost  entirely 
a  Northern  industry. 

In  1769  Virginia  had  attempted  to  protect  herself  against 
the  further  importation  of  negro  slaves,  but  England  over- 


154  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

ruled  the  enactments  of  Virginia,  because  the  trade  was  of 
great  advantage  to  England.  It  was  proposed  in  the  first 
draft  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  by  the  Virginia 
statesmen,  to  embody  a  recital  charging  England  with 
fostering  the  trade  in  negroes  for  its  own  interests,  thus 
imposing  slavery  upon  the  States.  The  only  reason  that 
this  recital  was  omitted  was  for  fear  that  it  would  offend 
the  Northern  States,  who  had  carried  on  the  same  trade  for 
their  profit.  (See  Ford's  Edition  of  Jefferson's  Works, 
Volume  4,  pages  145-146.) 

Indians  and  negroes  were  held  as  slaves  and  sold  into 
slavery  in  the  North.  A  child  of  nine  years,  the  son  of 
King  Philip,  was  sold  into  slavery,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  he  was  the  grandson  of  Massasoit,  who  had  always 
befriended  the  whites.  (Fiske's  Beginnings  of  New  Eng 
land,  folio  298.) 

The  chief  slave  market  for  negroes  was  Newport,  Rhode 
Island — later  called  "Rogue Island, "due  to  persistent  efforts 
to  pay  debts  with  depreciated  paper  money.  The  boats  of 
New  England  were  loaded  with  negroes  and  rum.  Peter 
Fanueil  dealt  in  these  articles.  His  ledger  is  headed  "Laus 
Deo, "  and  the  book  is  filled  with  items  of  slaves  and  rum. 
He  gave  to  Boston  Fanueil  Hall,  known  as  the  "Cradle  of 
Liberty."  It  was  built  out  of  the  proceeds  of  slavery 
and,  when  destroyed  by  fire  in  1761,  was  rebuilt  out  of  the 
proceeds  of  a  lottery. 

In  1787  Rhode  Island  prohibited  slavery.  In  1792  the 
Providence  Society  for  Promoting  the  Abolition  of  Slavery 
was  incorporated. 

The  slave  trade  did  not  cease,  however,  for  many  years 
after  laws  were  passed  prohibiting  it  in  the  Eastern  States. 
Their  ships  continued  to  bring  in  cargoes  designated  as 
"slops,"  in  fact,  negroes. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  155 

A  respectable  elder  who  sent  ventures  to  the  coast  always 
returned  thanks  on  Sunday,  after  hearing  of  the  arrival 
of  the  vessel  in  Newport,  "that  it  should  have  pleased  the 
Almighty  to  bring  to  this  land  of  freedom  a  cargo  of  be 
nighted  heathen  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  a  gospel  dis 
pensation."  One  may  pardon  the  classification  of  the 
New  Englander's  conscience  by  H.  C.  Conwell  who  says: 
"When  his  conscience  pricked  him  for  holding  slaves,  he 
quickly  unloaded  them  on  a  Virginia  tobacco  planter, 
and  immediately  organized  an  abolition  society,  expiating 
the  sin  of  trafficking  in  slaves  himself,  by  freeing  the  slaves 
of  others." 

In  Maryland,  we  had  four  kinds  of  slaves:  (1)  Negroes; 

(2)  Indentured  (men  and  women,  who,  in  order  to  pay  for 
their  transportation,  were  bound  over  for  a  term  of  years) ; 

(3)  convicts  (Maryland  received  more  of  this  class  than  any 
other  colony  in  America);  some  of  these  were  political 
convicts;  (4)  Apprentices.     (Johns  Hopkins  Studies:  Social 
and  Industrial  History,  228.    White  Servitude  in  Maryland. 
1634-1820.    McComas.) 

The  United  States  prohibited  the  slave  trade  in  1807. 
It  was  not,  however,  broken  up  until  many  years  afterwards. 

In  1800  Maryland  was  the  most  northern  of  the  slave 
States.  Slavery  did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  the 
best  citizens  of  Maryland.  Its  blighting  influence  was  rec 
ognized.  If  we  look  over  the  works  of  authors  who  traveled 
in  the  United  States  between  the  years  1820  and  1835,  we 
find  that  most  of  these  people,  when  they  reached  Maryland 
and  found  slavery,  criticized  the  institution;  but  in  almost 
every  instance  they  say  that  the  citizens  recognized  that 
it  was  wrong,  but  how  to  get  rid  of  it  was  the  question. 
It  was  easy  enough  for  the  Northern  States,  where  the 
slaves  were  few,  to  pass  laws  to  provide  for  their  emancipa- 


156  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

tion  within  a  certain  time,  and  then  let  their  citizens  sell 
them  to  the  South;  but  slaves  in  the  Southern  States  were 
held  in  large  numbers,  and  there  was  no  longer  any  State 
upon  which  they  could  shove  them  off,  as  was  done  by  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States,  who  held  comparatively  few. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  quote  all  the  different  travelers  who 
referred  to  this  condition.  Thomas  Hamilton  wrote  in 
183 1  in  "  Men  and  Manners  of  America, "  page  113:  "  When 
Pennsylvania,  for  instance,  abolished  slavery,  she  passed 
an  Act  that  after  a  certain  number  of  years  all  the  slaves 
within  her  territory  should  be  manumitted,  and  what  was 
the  consequence?  Why,  the  great  body  of  slaves  belonging 
to  Pennsylvania  planters  were  in  the  meantime  sold  and 
exported  to  other  States." 

Again  he  says:  "It  is  only  fair  to  state  that  during  the 
whole  course  of  my  tour  I  never  conversed  with  any  Amer 
ican  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  without  his  at  once  admitting 
the  magnitude  of  the  evil. " 

Michael  Chevelier  wrote  in  1834: 

"In  our  days  slavery  is  a  scourge  to  all  the  countries 
in  which  it  exists;  of  this  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
in  the  South  as  well  as  in  the  North,  are  convinced;  but  how 
to  end  it?"  (Page  154.) 

And  so  to  the  same  purpose  wrote  some  twenty  or  thirty 
people  at  this  time  upon  the  same  subject. 

The  fact  that  the  South  was  not  responsible  for  the  in 
stitution  of  slavery,  and  yet  was  in  no  condition  to  admit 
or  consent  to  immediate  abolition,  was  recognized  by 
Abraham  Lincoln,  who  expressed  himself  as  follows  in  a 
speech  delivered  October  16,  1854,  at  Peoria: 

"Before  proceeding,  let  me  say  that  I  have  no  prejudice 
against  the  Southern  people.  They  are  just  what  we  would 
be  in  their  situation.  If  slavery  did  not  now  exist  among 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  157 

them,  they  would  not  introduce  it.  If  it  did  now  exist 

among  us  we  should  not  instantly  give  it  up 

When  Southern  people  tell  us  they  are  no  more  responsible 
for  the  origin  of  slavery  than  we  are,  I  acknowledge  the  fact; 
and  when  it  is  said  that  the  situation  exists  and  it  is  very 
difficult  to  get  rid  of  it  in  a  very  satisfactory  way,  I  can 
understand  and  appreciate  the  same  ....  If  all 
earthly  power  were  given  me,  I  should  not  know  what  to 
do  as  to  the  existing  situation.  My  first  impulse  would  be 
to  free  all  the  slaves  and  send  them  to  Liberia,  their  own 
native  land  ....  What  next?  Free  them  and  make 
them  completely  and  socially  our  equals?  My  own  feelings 
will  not  admit  of  this,  and  if  mine  would,  we  well  know  that 
those  of  the  great  masses  of  people  will  not. 

"Whether  this  feeling  concurs  with  justice  and  sound 
judgment  is  not  the  sole  question,  for  indeed  a  universal 
feeling,  whether  ill  or  well  founded,  cannot  be  safely  dis 
regarded.  We  cannot  then  make  them  equals. " 

There  is,  therefore,  no  doubt  that  the  South  recognized 
the  fact  that  slavery  was  an  institution  which  should  not 
exist,  and  Mr.  Latrobe  was  one  of  those  who  took  an  active 
interest  in  trying  to  solve  this  problem,  as  well  as  that  of 
the  final  disposition  of  the  black.  For  while  it  is  true 
that  the  war — a  great  convulsion — has  settled  the  question 
of  slavery  in  the  United  States,  it  has  not  settled  the  negro 
question.  This  question  is  one  which,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  Jefferson,  Bishop  Turner  and  many  others, 
who  were  best  qualified  to  pass  upon  it,  is  bound  to  have  one 
of  two  solutions.  Either  the  negro  race  must  be  absorbed 
into  the  white,  and  the  effect  of  this  will  be  to  make  a 
negroid  people:  or  else  they  will  have  to  live  elsewhere. 

In  considering  the  future  of  the  negro,  there  can  be  no 
question  that  as  we  stand  today  the  immediate  loss  of  the 


158  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

entire  negro  population  of  the  South  would  be  a  calamity. 
When  in  the  future  this  country  is  thickly  populated,  when 
the  negro  asserts  his  rights  to  equality,  social  and  political, 
when  there  is  room  for  but  one  on  the  plank,  the  negro  will 
go  under,  and  colonization  in  Africa  or  some  other  country 
will  be  his  salvation. 

One  of  the  best  speeches  ever  made  upon  this  subject 
was  delivered  by  Grady  of  Georgia,  now  dead,  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Bar  Association  in  Boston,  December  1889. 

"My  people,  your  brothers  in  the  South,  brothers  in 
blood,  in  destiny,  in  all  that  is  best  in  our  past  and  future, 
are  so  beset  with  the  problem  that  their  very  existence 
depends  upon  its  right  solution.  Nor  are  they  wholly  to 
blame  for  its  presence.  Slave  ships  of  the  Republic  sailed 
from  your  ports;  the  slaves  were  in  our  fields.  You  will 
not  defend  the  traffic,  nor  I  the  institution,  but  I  do  here 
declare  that  in  its  wise  and  humane  administration,  in 
lifting  the  slave  to  heights  of  which  he  had  not  dreamed 
in  his  savage  home,  and  giving  him  a  happiness  he  has 
not  yet  found  in  freedom,  our  fathers  left  their  sons  a 
saving  and  excellent  heritage.  In  the  storm  of  war  this 
institution  was  lost;  I  thank  God,  as  heartily  as  you  do, 
that  human  slavery  has  gone  forever  from  American  soil. 
But  the  free  man  remains,  with  him  a  problem  without 
precedent  or  parallel.  Note  its  appalling  conditions.  Two 
utterly  dissimilar  races  on  the  same  soil,  with  equal  political 
and  civil  rights.  Almost  equal  in  number,  but  terribly 
unequal  in  intelligence  and  responsibility,  and  pledged 
against  fusion.  One  for  a  century  in  servitude  to  the  other, 
freed  at  last  by  a  desolating  war.  The  experiment  sought 
by  neither,  but  approached  by  both  sides  with  doubt. 
These  are  the  conditions  ....  Never,  Sirs,  has 
such  a  task  been  given  to  mortal  stewardship  .... 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  159 

The  black  man  affecting  but  one  section,  is  clothed  with 
every  privilege  of  government,  and  pinned  to  the  soil, 
and  my  people  are  commanded  to  make  good,  at  any  hazard 
and  any  cost,  his  free  and  equal  heirship  of  American 
privilege  and  prosperity.  It  matters  not  that  every  other 
race  has  been  routed  or  excluded  without  rhyme  or  reason. 
It  matters  not  that  wherever  the  whites  and  blacks  have 
touched  in  any  area,  or  in  any  clime,  there  has  been  irrec 
oncilable  violence.  It  matters  not  that  no  two  races, 
however  similar,  have  lived  anywhere  at  any  time  on  the 
same  soil,  with  equal  rights,  in  peace  ....  Can 
we  solve  it?  ....  The  God  who  gave  it  into  our 
hands,  He  alone  can  know  ....  Whether  the  issue 
be  lost  or  won,  we  shall  feel  your  strong  arms  about  us, 
and  hear  the  beating  of  your  approving  hearts  .... 

"Whatever  the  future  may  hold  for  them — whether  they 
plod  along  in  servitude  from  which  they  have  never  been 
lifted  since  the  Cyrenian  was  laid  hold  upon  by  the  Roman 
soldiers  and  was  made  to  bear  the  cross  of  the  fainting 
Christ — whether  they  find  homes  again  in  Africa,  and  thus 
hasten  the  prophecy  of  the  psalmist  who  said, '  and  suddenly 
Ethiopia  shall  hold  out  her  hands  unto  God' — whether  for 
ever  dislocated  and  separated,  they  remain  a  weak  people, 
beset  by  stronger,  and  exist,  as  the  Turk,  who  lives  in  the 
jealousy  rather  than  in  the  conscience  of  Europe — or 
whether,  in  this  miraculous  Republic,  they  break  through 
the  caste  of  twenty  centuries  and,  belying  universal  history, 
reach  the  full  stature  of  citizenship,  and  in  peace  maintain 
it — we  shall  give  them  uttermost  justice  and  abiding 
friendship." 

The  experiment  is  still  on  trial.  Can  the  whites  and 
the  blacks,  in  nearly  equal  numbers,  live  as  one  race,  with 
equal  rights,  in  peace? 


160  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

The  Northern  brother  is  better  informed  today  than  he 
was  at  the  end  of  the  war,  when  the  Radicals,  greater  traitors 
than  those  who  fought  for  secession,  endeavored  to  treat 
the  South  as  conquered  territory  and  to  force  the  negro 
into  the  position  of  governing  his  former  master. 

As  I  sat  watching  the  "Birth  of  a  Nation, "  when  the  con 
flict  between  the  whites  (Ku-Klux)  and  the  negroes  was  por 
trayed  an  audience  in  Boston  arose  and  applauded.  What 
a  change!  But  it  demonstrated  one  thing— that  the  whites 
will  never  again  fight  against  their  brothers  for  the  negro 
race.  If,  after  a  fair  trial,  the  problem  is  lost,  it  will  be  a 
united  white  race  against  the  negro. 

We  are  constantly  reminded  of  the  difficulties  which  are 
brought  about  by  contact  of  the  blacks  and  whites,  by 
reading  news  items  of  conflicts  between  negroes  and  whites; 
and  of  efforts  on  the  part  of  cities  like  Baltimore  to  segre 
gate  the  negro  and  to  confine  him  in  certain  sections,  for 
it  has  been  found  that  he  is  a  blight  upon  all  sections  where 
he  settles,  and  destroys  the  value  of  property.  Such  a 
movement  is  now  on  foot  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
A  case  from  Missouri  (1916)  has  just  been  argued  in  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  to  test  the  constitutionality 
of  such  laws.  No  one  who  thinks  at  all  can  help  seeing  that 
the  matter  is  far  from  finally  settled.  The  proposition  of 
removing  or  segregating  the  negro  from  the  whites  is  con 
sidered  by  many  people  impossible,  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
negro  race  has  been  in  this  country  for  several  hundred 
years,  and  that  it  is  too  firmly  fixed  in  the  soil  to  consider 
the  possibility  of  extradition.  But  as  this  country  becomes 
more  thickly  populated  and  the  struggle  for  existence 
becomes  more  acute,  there  can  be  no  question  that  one  of 
these  races  will  have  to  give  way,  for  they  cannot  live  as 
equals;  in  the  meantime,  as  long  as  the  negro  does  not  assert 
his  social  rights  there  may  be  a  truce. 


: 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  161 

As  the  educated  negro  comes  at  last  to  realize  the  actual 
conditions  under  which  he  lives  and  which  constitute  an 
impassable  barrier  between  the  white  race  and  himself, 
he  must,  and  will,  see  that  he  can  never  become  the  white 
man's  equal;  and  he  will  want  to  withdraw  to  some  coun try- 
where  this  distinction  will  not  exist.  And  it  is  with  this 
in  view  that  the  future  of  Liberia  may  become  so  important. 
It  will  be  the  place  of  refuge  and  equality,  and  one  of  the 
purposes  for  which  Mr.  Latrobe  fought  the  fight  of  coloni 
zation  will  be  achieved. 

In  Abraham  Lincoln's  Eulogy  of  Henry  Clay,  July  16, 
1852,  First  Volume,  Folio  167,  of  "Speeches,  Letters  and 
State  Papers",  compiled  by  Nicolay  and  Hay,  he  says: 

"The  American  Colonization  Society  was  organized  in 
1816.  Mr.  Clay,  though  not  one  of  its  projectors,  was 
one  of  its  earliest  members,  and  he  died  its  President,  as 
he  had  been  for  many  preceding  years.  Quoting  the  lan 
guage  of  Clay: 

'There  is  a  moral  fitness  in  the  idea  of  returning  to  Africa 
her  children  whose  ancestors  have  been  torn  from  her  by 
the  ruthless  hand  of  fraud  and  violence;  transplanted  in 
a  foreign  land  they  will  carry  back  to  their  native  soil  the 
rich  fruit  of  religious  civilization,  law  and  liberty.  May 
it  not  be  one  of  the  great  designs  of  the  Ruler  of  the  Uni 
verse  whose  ways  are  so  often  inscrutable  for  shortsighted 
mortals,  thus  to  transfer  an  original  crime  into  a  signal 
blessing  to  that  most  unfortunate  portion  of  the  globe.' 

"This  suggestion  was  made  twenty-five  years  ago    . 
may  it  indeed,  be  realized. " 

Mr.  Lincoln's  attitude  towards  the  negro  and  Coloniza 
tion  was  that  slavery  should  be  abolished  gradually,  and 
that  the  negro  should  be  colonized.  He  considered  the 
possibility  of  acquiring  territory  in  South  America  for  this 


162  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

purpose.  The  South  American  countries  protested  against 
this  proposed  action.  In  speaking  of  Liberia  in  a  number 
of  instances  he  showed  his  appreciation  of  this  effort  by 
his  endorsement. 

In  a  speech  of  Mr.  Everett,  delivered  in  1853,  he  says, 
adopting  the  idea  of  Henry  Clay: 

"Africa  will  be  civilized,  and  civilized  by  the  descendants 
of  those  torn  from  the  land." 

If  we  examine  the  history  of  the  past  we  see  the  truth  of 
Mr.  Grady's  statement  that  never  have  two  distinct  races 
successfully  lived  side  by  side  in  equality.  Starting  with 
the  Jews  when  they  were  driven  from  Egypt,  we  find  that 
they  have  been  moving  on  ever  since.  They  were  banished 
from  England  in  1290,  and  it  was  not  until  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century  that  they  were  permitted  to  live 
there  unmolested  in  England.  They  were  driven  from  Spain 
in  1492.  Until  this  year  they  were  not  entitled  to  citizenship 
in  Russia,  and  many  of  them  came  to  this  country  to  reach 
what  they  call  "The  Promised  Land."  The  Moors,  in 
their  great  movement,  swept  over  Spain  in  the  eighth 
century.  But  they  were  driven  out  of  Grenada,  and  their 
last  city  captured  in  the  fifteenth  century.  They  remained 
in  Spain  until  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
when  they  were  driven  out  and  deported  as  a  people — 
extradited  from  the  country,  in  which  they  had  lived  for 
nine  hundred  years.  They  were  not  like  the  negro,  an 
undesirable  people  of  a  low  order.  They  were  more  refined, 
more  intelligent  and  of  a  much  higher  order  than  the  Span 
iards  who  surrounded  them.  As  we  travel  through  Spain 
today,  the  beauty  of  their  architecture  is  the  subject  of 
our  admiration,  and  yet  these  people,  representing  the 
wealth  and  intelligence  of  their  country,  were  picked  up 
bodily  and  driven  out  of  Spain.  To  be  sure,  this  was  done 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  163 

in  the  name  of  religion,  under  whose  banner  the  greatest 
outrages  ever  perpetrated  upon  humanity  have  taken 
place.  But  still  there  has  been  no  change  in  men's  char 
acter,  and  when  a  contest  arises  between  a  stronger  and 
a  weaker  race,  the  weaker  will  go  down.  Africa,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Moor,  will  be  the  place  of  refuge  for  the  blacks. 

Man 's  inhumanity  to  man  is  the  same  today  as  it  was  in 
the  seventeenth  century.  In  our  own  country,  for  example, 
the  Indian  has  gradually  been  driven  from  place  to  place, 
and  moved  from  one  section  of  the  country  to  another,  as 
his  existence  has  been  found  inconsistent  with  the  progress 
of  the  white  race. 

Another  illustration,  on  a  much  smaller  scale,  is  the  case 
of  the  Acadians  who  had  settled  in  Nova  Scotia.  In  1755 
they  were  forced  aboard  ships,  and  were  scattered,  to 
the  number  of  six  thousand,  over  the  United  States,  as  it 
was  claimed  that  their  existence  as  a  people  was  opposed  to 
the  advance  of  the  English  in  their  civilization. 

So,  while  it  may  shock  one  to  consider  the  possibility 
of  moving  a  people  like  the  negro  race  out  of  the  country, 
it  is  not  an  unheard-of  thing;  and  in  fact  the  records  show 
in  every  instance  where  the  conflict  has  come,  that  that 
people  has  been  moved  which  belonged  to  the  weaker  race. 

We  have  today  reports  of  the  Armenians,  who  possess 
perhaps  the  garden  spot  of  the  world.  They  and  the  Turks, 
two  alien  races,  cannot  live  together,  and  in  consequence 
the  Armenians  are  being  butchered  and  driven  from  their 
homes  until  they  will  cease  to  exist  as  a  people. 

The  impossibility  that  there  can  ever  be  a  condition 
under  which  the  two  races,  the  negro  and  the  white,  can 
live  in  equality,  is  realized  by  many  of  the  negroes  them 
selves.  Dr.  E.  W.  Blyden,  a  negro  who  was  highly  edu 
cated,  in  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  African  Reposi- 


164  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

tory  on  "Latrobe's  Maryland  in  Liberia,"  says  of  Mr. 
Latrobe  that: 

"He  has  always  seen  that  emancipation  would  not  solve 
the  social  or  racial  difficulty,  and  has  continually  preached 
and  illustrated,  in  a  thousand  ways,  the  views  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  on  the  subject.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the 
present  generation  of  colored  Americans,  or  even  white 
Americans,  will  grasp  these  ideas." 

B.  H.  M.  Turner  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  says: 

"There  is  no  instance  mentioned  in  history,  where  an 
enslaved  people  of  an  alien  race  rose  to  respectabliity 
upon  the  same  territory  of  their  enslavement,  and  in  the 
presence  of  their  enslavers,  without  losing  their  identity 
or  individuality  by  amalgamation." 

The  views  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  to  which  Blyden  refers, 
are  expressed  by  him  in  the  following  language: 

"Nothing  is  more  clearly  written  in  the  Book  of  Destiny 
than  the  emancipation  of  the  blacks;  and  it  is  equally 
certain  that  the  two  races  will  never  live  in  a  state  of  equal 
freedom  under  the  same  government,  so  insurmountable 
are  the  barriers  which  nature,  habit  and  opinion  have  es 
tablished  between  them. " 

The  views  of  Abraham  Lincoln  endorse  Jefferson's. 
Page  369,  Volume  2,  September  18, 1858,  Debate  at  Charles 
ton,  Abraham  Lincoln's  opening  speech: 

"I  will  say  then,  that  I  am  not,  nor  ever  have  been,  in 
favor  of  bringing  about  in  any  way,  a  social  and  political 

equality  of  the  White  and  Black  races And 

I  will  say  in  addition  to  this,  that  there  is  a  physical  differ 
ence  between  the  White  and  Black  races  which  I  believe 
will  forever  forbid  the  two  races  living  together  in  terms  of 
social  and  political  equality. " 


CANAL  AROUND  THE  FALLS  OF  THE  OHIO 
Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 


o\v\o  AWT  v>  ^1llK<*  awr  awsosiK  IKVIKO 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  165 

Speech  delivered  to  colored  men  on  Colonization,  August 
14,  1862,  page  222,  second  volume: 

"Why  shall  the  people  of  your  race  be  colonized?  You 
and  we  are  different  races;  we  have  between  us  a  broader 
difference  than  exists  between  almost  any  other  two  races. 
.  .  .  .  Your  race  suffers  very  greatly,  many  of  them, 
by  living  among  us,  while  ours  suffers  from  your  presence. 
.  .  .  .  But  even  when  you  cease  to  be  slaves,  you 
are  yet  far  removed  from  being  placed  on  an  equal  with 
the  Whites.  You  are  deprived  of  many  of  the  advantages 
which  the  other  race  enjoys.  The  aspiration  of  man  is 
to  enjoy  equality  with  the  best  when  free,  but  on  this 
broad  continent  not  a  single  man  of  your  race  is  made  the 
equal  of  a  single  man  of  ours." 

And  in  the  same  speech  a  little  later  he  said: 

"The  Colony  of  Liberia  has  been  in  existence  a  long  time. 
In  a  certain  sense  it  is  a  success." 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  the  views  enter 
tained  by  Mr.  Latrobe,  namely,  that  there  must  be  ulti 
mately  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  negro,  were  entertained  by 
the  leading  minds  of  the  country,  and,  while  this  question 
may  at  present  be  sleeping,  it  still  exists,  and  its  solution 
will  have  to  be  found. 

The  result  of  the  efforts  of  those,  who  like  Mr.  Latrobe 
believed  in  the  establishment  of  colonies  upon  the  coast  of 
Africa,  has  resulted  in  the  creation  of  a  nation,  and  Liberia 
exists  today,  and  has  entered  the  family  of  nations  as  a 
Republic.  As  to  its  condition,  we  find  a  variety  of  expression 
of  opinion. 

Commodore  Shufelt,  who  visited  the  coast  in  1876,  said 
in  an  address  delivered  in  1877  that  it  became  his  duty  to 
revisit  the  coast  of  Africa,  after  an  absence  of  twenty-five 
years  ....  "All  this  indicated  life,  business  and 
commercial  and  agricultural  prosperity. " 


166  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Mr.  Stanley,  the  great  African  explorer,  speaking  of  the 
young  Republic  in  1884,  says: 

"This  State,  which  they  might  regard  with  honest  pride 
(that  is,  the  United  States),  ....  It  was  an  act 
(its  establishment),  well  worthy  of  the  Great  Republic 
.  .  .  .  Of  significant  import,  in  view  of  its  interests 
of  the  future  weal  of  the  seven  million  people  of  African 
descent  within  its  borders. " 

In  a  recent  publication  of  Frederick  Starr,  Chicago,  1913, 
he  speaks,  giving  the  history  of  Liberia,  as  follows: 

"Africa  has  been  portioned  among  the  nations.  The 
little  Kingdom  of  Abyssinia  on  the  north  and  the  Repub 
lic  of  Liberia  upon  the  West  Coast  are  all  of  the  continent 
that  remains  in  the  hands  of  Africans.  Liberia  alone  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  negroes  .... 

"A  successful  Liberia  would  be  a  star  of  hope  to  the 
Dark  Continent.  In  Liberian  success  there  lies  African 
redemption;  redemption  not  only  in  the  religious  sense, 
but  redemption  economic,  social,  governmental.  If  the 
black  man  can  stand  alone  in  Liberia  he  can  stand  alone 
elsewhere;  if  the  negro  is  able  to  organize  and  maintain  a 
government  on  the  west  coast,  he  can  do  the  same  on  the 
east  coast  and  in  the  southern  part  of  Africa.  Africa  is 
restless  under  the  white  man. 

"If  Liberia  prospers,  it  will  stand  as  an  example  of  what 
black  men  can  do  to  all  the  other  negro  population  of  the 
continent.  Its  example  would  stimulate  advance  for  all; 
the  sight  of  enterprises  originating  with  negroes  and  carried 
out  by  them  would  give  heart  and  stimulus  to  negroes  every 
where.  " 

To  quote  Mr.  Starr  further: 

"From  this  little  State,  the  size  of  Belgium,  whose  popu 
lation  does  not  surpass,  including  the  natives,  a  fifth  part 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  167 

of  the  population  of  that  country,  will  go  forth,  perhaps, 
some  day  the  best  imaginable  missionaries,  to  extend  over 
the  Black  Continent  the  benefit  of  civilization  and  to  found 
the  free  United  States  of  Africa,  sufficiently  powerful  to 
defy  the  covetousness  of  white  men,  and  to  make  justice 
reign  as  far  as  it  can  reign  among  men. " 

Whether  it  is,  or  is  not  a  failure,  is  immaterial.  Certainly 
there  was  a  justification  for  the  work,  and  the  men  who  sac 
rificed  their  time  are  entitled  to  credit. 

The  idea  of  Colonization  existed  for  many  years.  We 
find  Brissot  speaking  of  it  in  1788,  after  Dr.  Thornton  had 
brought  it  to  his  attention.  There  was  a  movement  on  foot 
in  the  United  States,  as  Jefferson  shows  when  he  says: 

"In  the  disposition  of  these  unfortunate  people,  the  first 
rational  object  to  be  distinctly  kept  in  view  is  the  establish 
ment  of  a  colony  on  the  coast  of  Africa  which  may  introduce 
among  the  aborigines  the  arts  of  civilization  and  science." 

An  interesting  page  in  the  history  of  Maryland,  showing 
its  efforts  in  this  respect,  is  set  forth  in  the  "Maryland  in 
Liberia,"  already  referred  to,  published  by  the  Maryland 
Historical  Society. 

Mr.  Latrobe  became  the  President  of  the  corporation 
in  1837  and  continued  as  President  until  "Maryland  in 
Liberia"  became  a  part  of  Liberia  as  a  County  in  1853, 
at  which  time  he  was  elected  the  President  of  the  American 
Colonization  Society,  holding  this  position  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1891. 

Maryland  took  the  lead  and  was  the  most  liberal  of  all 
the  states  in  this  effort  to  solve  the  question.  There  were 
auxiliary  societies  in  a  number  of  the  states,  and,  as  Blyden 
says,  the  three  names  which  will  be  honored  in  the  annals 
of  Maryland  in  Liberia  are  Latrobe,  Hall  and  Russwurm. 
Russwurm  was  a  negro  and  was  at  one  time  President  of 
Maryland  in  Liberia. 


168  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

The  creation  of  this  colony  was  to  solve  the  problem 
complicated  with  the  question  of  slavery.  It  is  not  con 
tended  that  all  persons  who  were  interested  in  this  effort 
were  actuated  by  love  of  the  negro.  Many  were  profoundly 
affected  by  the  institution  of  slavery  and  the  wrongs  of 
the  slave.  Many  realized  the  wrongs  of  the  slaves ;  others 
believed  that  the  condition  of  the  free  slaves  created  a 
population  more  dangerous  than  the  slaves  themselves,  and 
that  as  a  class  such  people,  devoid  of  education,  should  be 
removed  from  the  soil.  No  movement  of  this  kind  ever 
existed  without  motives  of  various  kinds  being  involved — 
some  high,  some  low.  Many  States  passed  laws  pro 
hibiting  the  negro  from  remaining  within  their  borders. 
The  cry  was  like  Sarah's  of  old: 

"Wherefore,  she  said  unto  Abraham,  cast  out  the  bonds 
woman  and  her  son,  for  the  son  of  the  bondswoman  shall  not 
be  heir  with  my  son. " 

Charles  Carroll  Harper,  a  young  man  of  the  same  age  as 
Mr.  Latrobe,  writes  to  him  on  January  3,  1826,  from  South 
Carolina: 

"John,  we  must  not  die  until  we  find  some  place  of  refuge 
for  the  blacks.  A  fearful  conflict  is  in  preparation  for 
our  posterity." 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Latrobe  in  this  connection,  a  memo 
rial  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  says: 

"But  we  had  a  true  philanthropist  and  his  sympathies 
were  broader  than  the  lines  of  City  or  State.  He  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  organization  of  the  Maryland  Coloniza 
tion  Society,  whose  constitution  declared  that  they  looked 
forward  to  the  extirpation  of  slavery  in  Maryland  by  proper 
and  gradual  efforts  addressed  to  the  understanding  and 
experience  of  the  people  of  the  State,  as  the  peculiar  object 
of  their  labor.  He  framed  the  constitution  of  the  Colony 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  169 

of  Maryland  in  Liberia,  inserting  therein  among  other  wise 
provisions  a  strict  prohibition  of  the  manufacture  or  sale  of 
intoxicating  liquors.  His  labors  in  the  enterprise  were  so 
wise  and  efficient  and  important,  so  well  adapted  to  throw  a 
ray  of  light  upon  the  Dark  Continent,  that  he  has  not  un 
justly  been  styled  'The  Creator  of  a  State.'  " 

Bradley  T.  Johnson,  in  a  speech  made  at  the  same  time, 
says: 

'And  he  also  prepared  a  code  of  laws  for  the  people. 
His  code  and  his  constitution  were  ready.  Mrs.  Latrobe, 
then  a  young  and  charming  woman,  gave  him  a  blue  ribbon 
belt,  and  the  constitution  and  code  of  Maryland  in  Liberia 
to  this  day  have  the  Great  Seal  appended  to  Mrs.  Latrobe 's 
belt." 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Colonization 
Society,  held  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  January  19,  1892, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Addison  presented  and  read  a  paper 
touching  the  death  of  President  Latrobe,  and  it  was  adopted 
by  a  rising  vote,  as  follows: 

"The  year  1891  will  be  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society  because  on  the  eleventh 
day  of  last  September,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  departed  this 
life.  No  words  can  express  our  sorrow  as  we  gather  today 
around  the  empty  chair  he  filled  for  thirty-eight  years  as 
our  President.  We  shall  see  him  here  no  more,  but  he 
still  lives  and  will  live  on  when  we  are  gone,  in  the  wisdom, 
the  ability  and  the  generous  enthusiam  that  are  a  part  of  the 
life  of  this  society  and  are  enshrined  in  its  history.  He 
felt  that  he  occupied  a  great  office  in  a  great  cause,  and, 
though  that  cause  was  obscure  and  the  world  regarded  it 
as  quixotic,  and  scornful  criticism  depreciated  and  ridiculed 
it,  he  never  lost  his  love  for  it  or  abated  his  efforts  in  its 
behalf. 


170  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

"There  was  indeed  little  in  the  present  to  animate  him, 
but  to  his  faith  the  future  was  bright  with  splendid  visions 
of  redeemed  millions  worshiping  God  in  spirit  and  in 
faith  and  rejoicing  in  the  rich  civilization  of  Christendom. 

"How  large  and  grand  he  seems  as  we  contemplate  him 
amid  all  his  manifold  interests  and  employments,  thinking, 
planning  and  laboring — not  for  himself  but  for  others,  not 
for  a  day  but  for  the  ages,  not  for  a  tribe  but  for  a  sentinent. 
His  was  no  dreamy,  romantic  sentimentalism,  spending 
tself  in  emotion  and  fine  words.  His  enthusiasm  for 
Africa  meant  self-denial.  As  far  back  as  1823  he  laid  aside 
his  loved  law  books  and  made  a  map  of  Liberia.  As  the 
years  passed  his  business  as  a  lawyer  increased,  the  cares  of 
life  crowded  upon  him;  many  loved  pursuits  solicited  his 
attention.  He  was  a  painter,  a  poet,  a  litterateur,  a  musi 
cian,  an  inventor;  his  hours  were  precious  to  him;  and  yet 
the  enthusiasm  of  his  early  manhood  for  the  Liberian 
Republic  never  forsook  him.  It  triumphed  over  the  charms 
of  the  painter 's  brush  and  of  the  poet 's  ecstacy.  Literary 
ambition,  musical  skill,  inventive  genius  were  often  sub 
ordinated  to  the  claims  of  colonization.  It  is  perhaps 
difficult  to  realize  today  the  amount  of  work  involved  in 
originating  the  Maryland  State  Colonization  Society,  in 
securing  State  aid  to  Liberian  emigration,  in  influencing  the 
Maryland  Legislature  in  successive  years  to  make  the  several 
appropriations  of  money  aggregating  the  large  sum  of 
$250,000.  His  sublime  zeal  was  not  confined  to  the  people 
of  his  own  State.  It  reached  across  the  Atlantic.  He 
was  the  originator  of  the  Colony  of  Cape  Palmas.  He 
prepared  its  bill  of  rights  and  the  constitution  and  ordinance 
for  its  temporary  government.  England's  famed  Wilber- 
force  was  not  more  earnest,  energetic  and  persistent  in  his 
efforts  for  negro  emancipation  than  was  our  Latrobe.  Over 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  171 

this  life  we  have  so  much  admired  a  singular  glory  has  been 
shed.  A  high  Christian  motive  controlled  him.  The  busy 
man  of  the  world  was  conscious  of  the  presence  here  of  the 
invisible  Kingdom  of  God,  and  of  the  blessings  it  offers 
to  the  barbarians  of  the  Dark  Continent.  The  source  of 
his  long  service,  the  inspiration  of  his  untiring  heroic  de 
votion,  his  own  beautiful  words,  recently  published,  reveal 
to  us: 

Oh,  were  I  left  to  choose  the  fame 

That  evermore  might  cling 

Around  the  mention  of  my  name, 

Like  ivy  on  a  tower  close  clustering, 

The  Triumphs,  trumpet  told,  of  war, 

The  Senate's  plaudits,  and  the  crowd's  hurrah, 

Might  all  unnoticed  ring. 

Potosi's  teeming  mine,  Golconda's  sunny  gem; 

Aye,  all  the  powers  that  boast  the  diadem, 

I'd  hold  as  worthless,  spurn  unsought, 

If  but  a  single  voice 

Of  Gratitude,  unbought, 

From  Africa  should  say 

I'd  made  one  heart  rejoice, 

Or  in  that  heathen  land  had  caused  one  soul  to  pray. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MR.  LATROBE  AS  A  LAWYER — FRIENDS  AND  ACQUAINT 
ANCES.    BALTIMORE  IN  1824 

The  solid  foundation  of  character  on  which  Mr.  Latrobe  's 
whole  life  was  built  was  as  significant  at  the  beginning  of 
his  career  as  later;  and  we  find  in  his  memories  evidence  of 
the  confidence  which  he  then  inspired. 

"I  ought  not,  in  this  record  of  my  life,  to  omit  what 
should  have  been  told  in  its  place — the  circumstances  under 
which  I  commenced  my  professional  life  (pecuniarily). 
The  day  I  was  admitted  to  practice,  we — my  mother  and  I — 
were  many  hundred  dollars  in  debt.  The  sale  of  my  father 's 
library  had  long  since  been  realized  and  there  remained 
of  availables  of  a  tangible  shape  only  my  mother's  interest 
in  some  New  Jersey  woodland  and  a  claim,  afterwards 
realized,  of  some  few  hundred  dollars  on  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  Delaware  Canal  Company.  One  could  live  in  a 
modest  way  and  comfortably  on  some  $1200  a  year,  but  it 
was  necessary  to  have  this  sum.  Without  it  the  cost 
might  as  well  have  been  $20,000.  We  had  it  not.  So  I 
went  to  Philip  Laurenson,  the  grocer,  and  to  Philip  Balt- 
zell,  the  dry  goods  merchant,  and  to  William  Surly,  the 
tailor,  and  asked  them  to  trust  me,  stating  that  if  I  lived 
I  would  pay  them — if  I  died  they  had  little  to  expect.  And 
they  trusted  me,  and  they  were  all  paid  in  money.  The 
debt  of  gratitude  is  still  unpaid.  They  have  long  since 
passed  away,  and  this  record  of  their  kindness  is  my  only 
way  to  liquidate  it." 

172 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  173 

He  relates  a  story  showing  the  financial  straits  to  which 
the  Latrobe  family  were  reduced.  Benjamin  Latrobe  was 
at  St.  Mary's  College,  where  he  took  high  honors  in  1824 
in  mathematics.  While  attending  college  he  lived  with  his 
brother.  He  afterwards  became  chief  engineer  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  Mr.  Latrobe  used  to  speak 
of  their  very  meagre  means  of  living.  He  told  me  that  in 
those  days  the  dress  of  a  gentleman  was  short  knee  breeches 
and  black  silk  stockings.  Black  silk  stockings  were  very 
expensive,  and  he  and  Ben  between  them  could  only 
afford  one  pair,  so  that  when  one  went  to  a  party  the 
other  did  not.  The  beauty  of  black  silk  stockings  was 
their  blackness;  by  reason  of  constant  use  they  became 
thin,  and  would  show  white.  Then  they  used  to  ink  their 
legs  in  order  to  keep  up  a  handsome  appearance. 

It  was  his  custom  to  write  verses  which  would  be  set 
to  music  by  one  of  his  friends.  These  would  then  be  in 
troduced  at  the  different  entertainments.  Among  other 
verses  that  he  wrote  was  one,  a  part  of  which  is  probably 
a  quotation  from  Byron  and  which  had  contained  the  line 
"My  bark  is  upon  the  deep, love."  When  this  was  re 
peated,  its  usefulness  was  entirely  destroyed  by  the  French 
Consul  who,  when  he  heard  it,  said,  "Qu'est-ce  que 
c'est  que  c,a — my  bark,  bow-wow,  bow-wow?"  This  was 
fatal  to  the  verse  which  never  recovered.  The  first  verse 
of  a  serenade  in  "Odds  and  Ends,"  written  by  Mr.  Latrobe, 
has  the  following  words.  This,  no  doubt,  is  the  song  of  the 
story: 

My  bark  is  upon  the  deep,  love, 
My  comrades,  impatient,  call; 
Awake,  while  the  fairies  sleep,  love! 
Awake  then,  more  bright  than  all, 
Awake — awake — awake,  Elvira,  love. 


174  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

He  remained  with  General  Harper  until  the  latter 's 
death  in  1825.  He  was  admitted  into  the  Baltimore 
County  Court  May  8,  1824;  Court  of  Appeals  of  Maryland 
1827;  the  United  States  District  Court,  September  Term 
1825;  United  States  Circuit  Court  1827;  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  1830. 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  one  could  accomplish  so 
much,  in  such  a  variety  of  fields,  as  Mr.  Latrobe  did.  The 
secret  of  his  being  able  to  do  so  lay  in  his  theory  of  life, 
which  he  announced  in  an  address  delivered  to  the  Law 
Department  of  the  University  of  Georgetown  in  1874  and 
which  may  be  designated  as  the  "utilization  of  scraps  of 
time. "  He  was  never  idle.  As  a  soldier,  lawyer,  inventor, 
poet,  painter,  philanthropist  and  writer,  he  was  a  practical 
illustration  of  what  could  be  accomplished  by  carrying 
out  his  own  theory.  How  different  from  the  method  of  living 
now  in  vogue  among  those  who  arrogate  to  themselves  the 
position  of  the  leaders  of  society,  where,  as  Lowell  has  said, 
the  "highest  achievement  of  our  present  civilization  is  to 
waste  time  without  lassitude." 

Quoting  from  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  his  most  intimate 
friend,  Charles  Carroll  Harper,  some  years  later,  in  which 
he  states  that  he  has  started  for  a  holiday  of  four  weeks, 
he  gives  a  list  of  his  equipment,  which  would  hardly  be 
duplicated  by  a  fashionable  visitor  of  today.  He  says  in 
this  letter : 

"There  was  a  trunk  of  goodly  dimensions,  a  carpet  bag 
of  glaring  pattern,  a  surtout  and  an  umbrella  in  its  appro 
priate  case.  This  in  the  ordinary  course.  Then  there  was 
a  sketch  book,  with  a  new  fangled  contrivance  of  mine  own 
to  keep  the  pencils  and  brushes  safe.  Then  a  book  on 
botany  for  beginners  and  a  more  scientific  one  for  adepts. 
A  magnifying  glass,  with  three  lenses,  to  ferret  out  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  175 

secrets  of  the  class  cryptogamia,  a  pocket  thermometer 
to  make  myself  wiser  about  the  temperature  of  the  countless 
springs  I  am  to  visit,  a  folding  foot  rule  and  an  ample  map 
of  Virginia  done  up  in  a  portable  shape.  'Truly/  said  I, 
as,  in  looking  in  all  my  pockets  and  finding  what  I  sought, 
my  pencil  case,  as  usual,  in  the  last  receptacle  examined, 
I  tumbled  out  the  most  of  the  articles  here  enumerated, 
^Truly,  Denon  was  a  fool  to  me,  and  as  for  Belzoni  and  the 
Landers,  they  are  not  to  be  named  in  the  same  breath  with 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  a  member  of  the  Baltimore  Bar,  etc., 
equipped  for  a  journey  to  the  White  Sulphur  Springs.'  ; 
I  have  always  believed  that  no  information  was  ever  lost 
upon  a  lawyer.  I  recollect  appearing  in  a  case  in  which 
the  other  side  endeavored  to  establish  the  mental  capacity 
of  a  testatrix.  One  of  the  principal  witnesses  was  a  man 
who  had  lived  in  the  same  boarding  house  with  the  deceased 
and  who  on  examination  testified  that  he  had  based  his  judg 
ment  on  the  game  of  whist  he  had  seen  her  play.  Being  a 
whist  player  myself,  I  was  able,  on  cross-examination,  to  de- 
velope  the  fact  that  his  knowledge  of  the  game  was  such  that, 
if  judged  by  it,  he  would  be  a  fit  candidate  for  the  insane 
asylum;  and  this  utterly  destroyed  the  value  of  his  testimony. 
Mr.  Latrobe  says  in  his  address  to  the  Law  School: 
"Clients  do  not  seek  you  to  discuss  abstract  principles, 
but  to  deal  with  facts  growing  out  of  their  various  occupa 
tions;  and  the  wider  your  information  in  regard  to  these, 
the  more  highly  appreciated  will  your  advice  be  and  the 
greater  its  usefulness.  'Your  profession,  dealing  by  turns 
with  every  branch  of  human  knowledge,  brings  by  turns 
every  faculty,  taste  and  accomplishment  into  play.  Not 
that  you  can  expect  to  be  admirable  Crichtons;  or  to  have 
it  said  of  you,  as  was  said  of  a  celebrated  professor,  substi 
tuting  the  word  'law'  for  'science,'  that ' science,'  was  his 


176  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

forte  and  omniscience  his  foible.'  But  if  you  cannot  be 
adepts,  you  need  not  be  ignoramuses.  If  you  are  not,  like 
Mrs.  Somerville,  at  home  with  the  Differential  Calculus, 
you  may  know  enough  to  avoid  confounding  it  with  secre 
tions  requiring  surgery  to  remove.  If  you  are  not  a  practi 
cal  photographer,  you  may  be  familiar  enough  with  optics 
and  chemistry  to  understand  how  the  sun  is  made  to  work 
its  artistic  wonders.  If  the  ticking  of  the  telegraph  speaks 
to  you  in  an  unknown  tongue,  you  may  at  least  comprehend 
enough  of  electricity  and  mechanics  and  horology  to  under 
stand  how  it  is  that  clocks  in  Washington  swing  their 
pendulums  isochronous  with  others  in  San  Francisco.  Nor 
is  such  knowledge  ornamental  merely — to  be  regarded  as 
a  gentlemanly  accomplishment  and  nothing  more.  On 
the  contrary,  Woodward's  solar  camera  was  the  subject, 
not  long  since,  of  a  prolonged  litigation  in  Maryland,  in 
which  the  black-board  was  introduced  into  the  Court 
Room,  and  the  science  of  optics  was  made  familiar  to  the 
Judge.  The  case  of  O'Reilly  v.  Morse,  which  brought  all 
the  learning  of  the  electric  telegraph  and  all  other  telegraphs 
before  the  Supreme  Court,  is  now  a  leading  authority  in 
the  profession.  In  Burr  vs.  Duryea,  the  illustration  of  the 
mechanical  and  philosophical  principles  involved  was  a 
working  model,  which  actually  felted  a  hat  in  the  presence 
of  the  same  august  tribunal.  To  fix  the  meaning  of  the 
words'  entertainment  of  the  state,'  in  the  Act  of  10,  George 
IV,  ch.  28,  it  became  necessary  to  review  the  whole  dramatic 
literature  of  the  period,  and  the  arguments  regarding  Lady 
Hewley's  charity  turned  upon  the  nicest  points  of  theo 
logical  controversy  and  biblical  criticism.  There  is  not  one 
of  the  many  cases  of  collision  in  admiralty  that  does  not 
absolutely  demand,  on  the  part  of  counsel,  some  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  navigation  and  the  peculiar  characteris- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  177 

tics  of  steamers  and  sailing  vessels.  Turn  to  the  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  from  those  of  Judge  Story  to  the 
last  exhaustive  treatise  of  Judge  Clifford,  invoking  principles 
of  the  mechanical  arts  and  practical  science,  and  you  will 
find  the  amplest  illustration  of  the  value  to  a  professional 
man  of  the  knowledge  that  has  enabled  the  Bar  to  make 
intelligible  to  the  Bench  the  matters  coming  before  it  for 
judgment.  You  will  find  in  these  judgments,  too,  the 
most  logical  reasoning  and  the  prQioundest  knowledge  of 
the  law.  The  stronghold  of  old  times  was  not  the  less 
impregnable  because  the  sternness  of  its  aspect  was  softened 
by  the  ivy  that  clung  to  the  buttresses  that  supported  it. 
Neither  is  law,  today,  weakened  in  its  power  because  those 
whose  ministry  upholds  it  unite  the  accomplishments  of 
various  knowledge  with  legal  erudition.  Great  lawyers, 
it  is  true,  have  won  their  way  to  greatness,  to  whom  such 
accomplishments  were  unknown;  but  no  lawyer's  greatness 
was  ever  lessened  by  their  possession.  Even  of  Lord  Eldon 
it  was  said  that,  in  his  high  office,  'he  suffered  greatly  from 
the  want  of  liberal  knowledge  and  a  more  cultivated  taste. ' 
"Nor  need  the  acquisition  of  such  knowledge  interfere 
with  the  diligence  demanded  by  purely  professional  studies. 
'Let  a  man  do  all  he  can,'  says  Hazlitt,  'in  any  one  branch 
of  study,  he  must  exhaust  himself  and  doze  over  it,  or  vary 
his  pursuit,  or  else  be  idle.  All  our  real  labor  lies  in  a  nut 
shell.  We  have  to  climb  a  steep  and  narrow  precipice; 
but,  after  that,  the  way  is  broad  and  easy,  where  we  may 
drive  several  accomplishments  abreast.'  But  to  realize 
this,  time  must  be  economized,  and  method  is  essential. 
Scott,  the  most  voluminous  writer,  perhaps,  of  the  century, 
whose  miscellaneous  prose  works  deal  with  all  manner  of 
subjects,  was  always  at  leisure  after  midday.  His  secret 
was  method,  nothing  else.  The  division  of  time  that  suited 


178  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

the  great  novelist  may  not  suit  you.  You  may  have  but 
scraps  of  time,  saved  here  and  there,  to  give  to  outside 
learnings.  But  have  a  method  of  using  up  the  scraps. 
For  every  scrap  of  time  have  a  scrap  of  useful  knowledge 
to  credit  it  with.  Throw  no  scraps  away." 

In  the  same  lecture  he  says,  speaking  of  success: 

"The  humblest  client  or  the  most  feeless  case  may  afford 
or  lead  to  it.  The  early  days  of  their  practice,  with  most 
young  lawyers,  may  be  called,  emphatically,  the  days  of 
small  things;  and  with  ample  time  upon  their  hands,  these 
aspirants  for  fame  should  adopt  and  adhere  persistently  to 
a  rule  to  study  as  carefully  and  to  prosecute  as  thoroughly 
the  smallest  case,  as  though  a  fortune  depended  upon 
success." 

This  same  advice  was  given  to  another  law  class  by  Mr. 
Wise,  who  illustrated  it  by  saying  that  the  smallest  case 
was  like  the  smallest  crab  in  a  basketful.  You  picked  him 
up  and  he  had  hold  of  the  next  one,  and  so  by  a  proper 
attention  to  the  smallest  crab  you  had  a  whole  basketful. 

Again  Mr.  Latrobe  speaks  of  courtesy  and  politeness. 
Courtesy  is  a  quality  susceptible  of  cultivation  and  within 
the  reach  of  all;  and  courtesy  should  be  a  characteristic  of 
our  lives.  Courtesy  smooths  many  a  rough  place.  Cour 
tesy  and  politeness  have  been  compared  to  an  air  cushion 
which,  while  it  has  nothing  in  it,  softens  the  bumps  wonder 
fully. 

One  of  the  judges  of  our  court  told  me  that  Mr.  Latrobe 
was  noted  for  his  politeness  and  suavity.  Mr.  James 
McClure,  a  lawyer,  once  said  that  he  could  not  help  feeling, 
while  trying  a  case  in  which  he  was  opposed  to  Mr.  Latrobe, 
and  getting  the  worst  of  it,  that  he  was  being  licked  all 
over,  prior  to  being  swallowed. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  179 

Politeness  and  courtesy,  however,  sometimes  lead  people 
into  error. 

A  friend  of  mine  was  trying  a  case  in  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
and  Judge  Bartol,  who  was  the  Chief  Judge  at  the  time, 
was  extremely  polite  and  showed  a  great  interest  in  the 
case.  My  friend,  when  he  returned  home  and  summed  up 
the  chances  of  success,  as  lawyers  will,  trying  to  count  noses 
by  recalling  the  aspect  of  the  Judges,  placed  Chief  Judge 
Bartol  at  the  head  of  those  whom  he  thought  he  had  favor 
ably  impressed.  The  case  was  decided  and  Judge  Bartol 
wrote  the  opinion,  leaving  not  a  shred  of  the  cause  which  my 
friend  represented.  Sometime  afterwards,  he  went  down 
to  try  a  case  in  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  Judge  Bartol  com 
menced  to  show  a  great  interest.  My  friend,  being  some 
what  of  a  wag,  stopped  him  and  said,  "Your  Honor,  you 
disconcert  me  considerably  by  the  interest  which  you 
apparently  take  in  my  case,"  and  then  he  said:  "the  last 
tune  I  was  here  you  seemed  to  be  on  my  side  and  you  wrote 
the  opinion  against  me.  In  fact,  I  remind  myself  of  a  man 
whose  duty  it  was  to  place  his  head  in  the  lion's  mouth. 
While  his  head  was  in  this  position,  feeling  a  slight  pressure 
he  turned  to  his  assistant  on  the  outside  and  said,  'Tom, 
is  he  wagging  his  tail?  If  he  is,  I  'm  a  goner. '  " 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Historical  Society  held  in  commemo 
ration  of  the  Honorable  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  on  Septem 
ber  12th  and  October  llth,  1891,  the  report  of  the  Com 
mittee  composed  of  Henry  Stockbridge,  John  B .  Morris  and 
Albert  Ritchie,  speaking  of  Mr.  Latrobe  as  a  lawyer,  speaks 
thus  eulogistically  of  him: 

"His  mechanical  knowledge  and  ingenuity  and  his  thor 
ough  mastery  of  the  law  applicable  to  inventions  soon 
placed  him  among  the  foremost  of  the  'patent  lawyers  'of  the 
country;  and  at  the  same  time  the  same  knowledge,  coupled 


180  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

with  his  position  as  the  legal  counsel  of  one  of  the  first 
railroads  in  the  land,  made  him  a  pioneer  in  a  branch  of 
the  law  which  then  first  came  into  existence,  and  has  since 
become  a  branch  second  in  importance  to  almost  no  other. 
...  .  Neither  his  labors  in  this  special  field  nor 
the  burden  of  an  extensive  general  practice  absorbed  all 
his  energies  or  blinded  him  to  the  interests  or  the  needs  of 
society  or  the  world.  He  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the 
Peace  and  gave  to  the  world  the  book  which  has  been  for 
more  than  half  a  century  the  sole  guide  to  the  practice  of 
the  law  within  that  jurisdiction  in  the  State  of  Maryland, 
and  the  demand  for  which  has  required  him  to  prepare 
edition  after  edition." 

Before  going  into  the  details  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  life  as  a 
lawyer  from  the  records  left  by  him,  a  description  of  Balti 
more  in  1824  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

At  that  period  Baltimore  stood  third  in  the  list  of  cities 
of  the  United  States,  with  a  population  of  about  seventy 
thousand.  Next  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  it  was 
then  the  most  important  city  of  the  Union.  New  York 
has  maintained  its  position  as  first;  Philadelphia  has  dropped 
from  second  to  third  place,  and  Baltimore  now  stands 
seventh  or  eighth,  with  a  population  of  about  six  hundred 
thousand.  Second  place  is  held  by  Chicago;  and  St.  Louis, 
Boston,  and  Cleveland  have  all  passed  Baltimore  in  the 
race.  It  is  but  fair  to  say,  however,  that  the  records  show 
that,  for  enterprise,  Baltimore  stood  high  in  those  days.  The 
first  passenger  railroad  was  constructed  by  investments  of 
its  citizens;  and  they  had  the  Baltimore  "clippers,"  ships 
which  were  known  all  over  the  world. 

The  clipper  ships  for  which  Baltimore  was  noted  are  de 
scribed  on  page  460  of  the  "History  of  Baltimore"  edited 
by  Clayton  C.  Hall.  One  of  the  special  features  was  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  181 

amount  of  topsails  which  they  carried,  and  they  established 
a  reputation  for  speed.  The  vessel  of  which  Mr.  Latrobe 
speaks,  as  having  been  built  for  Isaac  McKim,  was  named 
"Anne  McKim"  after  his  wife. 

The  first  telegraph  line  was  built  from  Baltimore  to 
Washington;  and  the  first  electric  railroad  in  the  United 
States  was  constructed  in  Baltimore.  The  first  Gas  Com 
pany  in  America  was  organized  in  Baltimore  on  June  17, 
1816.  The  men  interested  were  Rembrandt  Peale,  Robert 
C.  Long,  James  Mosher,  William  Lurman  and  William 
Gwynn. 

The  aristocratic  section  in  1824-30  was  at  about  the 
center  of  the  city.  In  the  suburbs  there  were  a  number  of 
places  which  were  given  names  as  was  the  custom  in  Eng 
land,  and  the  owners  were  known  after  the  name  of  the 
place,  as  was  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton. 

The  story  that  Charles  Carroll  who  signed  the  Decla 
ration  of  Independence  added  "of  Carrollton,"  to  assume 
the  responsibility  for  the  action,  which  he  might  otherwise 
escape  because  of  the  large  number  of  "Charles  Carrolls" 
in  existence,  has  often  been  repeated.  We  find  it  in  the 
"Colonial  Mansions  of  Maryland  and  Delaware,"  folio  120; 
and  in  a  speech  of  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  delivered  July 
4,  1876.  We  find  it  also  in  Appleton.  On  page  121  of 
the  "Colonial  Mansions  of  Maryland  and  Delaware,"  Mr. 
Latrobe  is  quoted: 

"I  have  no  recollection  of  having  heard  the  reason,  given 
in  Appleton,  for  the  attaching  of  the  "of  Carrollton"  to 
the  signature  of  Charles  Carroll  to  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  No  such  reason  was  given  me  by  Mr. 
Carroll  during  my  connection  with  him  in  the  preparation 
of  his  biography." 

But  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  "of  Carrollton" 
was  attached  for  the  purpose  of  identification. 


182  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

The  McHenry  mansion  was  situated  on  Fremont  Street, 
a  property  afterwards  acquired  by  Mr.  Winans  and  now 
occupied  by  Thomas  Winans'  residence.  Dr.  Stuart,  whose 
place  on  Maryland  Square  is  so  often  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Latrobe,  was  located  in  the  now  thickly  built-up  neigh 
borhood  around  Franklin  and  Union  Square,  as  was  also 
John  Donnell's  residence,  known  as  "Willow  Brook,"  he 
being  a  near  neighbor  of  Dr.  Stuart. 

Charles  Carroll  of  Homewood  was  the  son  of  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton.  The  handsome  colonial  house  on 
Charles  Street,  now  the  property  of  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  was  "Homewood."  It  was  built  by  Mr. 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  in  1800,  and  given  to  his  son 
as  a  wedding  gift  upon  his  marriage  to  Miss  Chew. 

Among  other  suburban,  or  at  that  time,  country  resi 
dences  around  Baltimore,  whose  names  were  attached  to 
the  names  of  the  owners,  were; 

Barrister  Carroll  of  "Mt.  Clare"  (now  Carroll  Park). 

William  Patterson  of  "Homestead." 

Robert  Oliver  of  "Harewood." 

Dr.  William  Gibson  of  "Rose  Hill." 

George  Grundy  of  "Bolton." 

Colonel  James  H.  McCullough  (the  site  of  whose  home  is 
now  occupied  by  the  Administration  Building  for  the  public 
schools,  corner  of  Madison  and  Lafayette.) 

Thomas  Tennant,  whose  daughter  married  John  P. 
Kennedy,  had  a  country  residence  now  occupied  by  the 
Ready  School. 

Louis  Pascault  lived  on  Saratoga  Street  between  Green 
and  Pine. 

James  Gallatin  makes  the  following  notes  in  his  diary: 
"September  24,  1823. — I  went  this  afternoon  to  M.  Pas 
cault  's  house.  It  is  the  oldest  house  in  Baltimore.  Most 
beautiful  iron  gates,  that  he  had  sent  from  France. 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891 


183 


"An  air  of  refinement  about  the  interior  that  I  have 
never  seen  out  of  France. 

"M.  Pascault,  who  is  the  Marquis  de  Polion,  is  a  gen 
tleman  of  the  old  regime. "  Page  246. 

"M.  Pascault  has  another  daughter  married  to  a  Mr. 
O  'Donnell,  the  son  of  a  rich  Indian  Nabob.  She  was  mar 
ried  when  she  was  fifteen,  and  had  a  child  before  she  was 
sixteen." 

The  second  daughter  of  Louis  Pascault  married  James 
Gallatin.  The  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  refused  to  per 
form  the  ceremony  because  Gallatin  was  a  Protestant. 
They  were  married  in  the  Protestant  Church,  and  Arch 
bishop  Carroll  excommunicated  M.  Pascault. 

John  Eager  Howard  lived  at  "Belvedere,"  the  mansion 
being  at  the  head  of  Calvert  Street,  north  of  Eager,  de 
stroyed  when  Calvert  Street  was  cut  through. 

The  aristocratic  part,  as  I  have  already  stated,  was  on 
Gay  Street,  south  of  Baltimore  Street.  Here  lived  Robert 
Oliver,  R.  L.  Colt,  his  son-in-law,  William  Gilmor,  Thomas 
Tennant,  Judge  Purviance  and  General  Harper,  and  on 
Water  Street  Robert  Gilmor,  Jr.,  his  residence  filled  with 
works  of  art,  Mr.  Dugan  and  Mr.  Hollins,  who  lived  opposite 
Mr.  Gilmor.  John  Donald,  Robert  Gilmor,  Sr.,  and  Wil 
liam  Patterson  lived  on  South  Street.  On  Gay  Street, 
north  of  Baltimore,  lived  John  Ridgely  of  Hampton.  The 
two  McKims,  Isaac  and  William,  lived  on  Baltimore  Street, 
east  of  the  bridge;  Smith  and  Buchanan  on  the  west  side  of 
Monument  Square,  Alexander  Brown  and  Dr.  Bartholo 
mew  lived  on  Fayette  Street,  now  occupied  by  the  Equi 
table  Building,  George  Brown,  the  Wilsons  and  John  McKim 
lived  on  Holliday  Street. 

The  Didiers,  Dishan  and  D'Orsey  were  names  familiar 
but  foreign.  Von  Kapf ,  Brune,  Mayer  and  Hoffman  were 


184  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

names  prominent  in  those  days — these  names  suggesting 
a  German  origin,  as  the  Didiers  and  others  suggested  a 
French. 

Mr.   Latrobe  writes: 

"Shortly  after  my  admission  to  the  Bar  in  1824  I  became 
interested  in  an  association  which  afterward  assumed  shape 
as  the  Maryland  Institute.  Those  who  were  interested 
with  me,  like  the  ghostly  procession  in  Macbeth,  move  before 
me:  Fielding  Lucas,  one  of  the  handsomest  old  men  I 
ever  saw,  and  my  dear  good  friend,  William  Meetef,  almost 
as  large  as  Lucas,  with  his  rounded  shoulders  and  his  clear 
brown  eyes.  Hezekiah  Miles  of  the  Register,  a  short 
stout  built  man,  stooping  as  he  walked,  speaking  in  a  high 
key,  addicted  to  snuff,  but  with  a  keen  gray  eye,  that 
lighted  up  a  plain  face  with  shrewd  expression.  Col.  Wm. 
Stewart,  with  his  square  shoulders,  light  hair,  kindly  coun 
tenance,  and  Scottish  cast  of  features.  And  so  I  might  go 
through  the  list  of  my  old  associates,  dead  now,  all  dead, 
all  dead.  Plain  men  as  regards  the  fashionable  world,  but 
the  men  on  whom  rested  the  prosperity  of  a  city,  as  they 
pursued  the  calling  that  connected  them  with  its  varied 
industries.  Of  this  body,  I  was  the  corresponding  sec 
retary,  and  the  working  man  from  the  beginning  until  a 
conflagration  destroyed  our  collection  of  material  and  our 
meeting  place  (The  Athenaeum)  in  1835.  I  was  getting 
along  in  the  profession,  too,  in  these  days,  slowly,  but  always 
doing  better  the  current  year  that  I  had  done  the  year 
before. 

"It  was  about  this  time,  I  think,  that  I  became  a  member 
of  the  Delphian  Club,  its  youngest  member,  and  the  last 
that  was  installed  with  the  ancient  ceremony.  The  club 
was  composed  of  literary  men,  who  had  a  vein  of  humor  in 
their  composition.  My  good  friend,  Mr.  Gwynn,  fancied 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  185 

I  was  fit  for  membership,  and  I  was  elected,  notwithstanding 
my  age.  We  met  once  a  week,  and  our  Secretary  was 
Dr.  John  Readel,  whose  inexhaustible  fun  kept  every 
member  aroused.  Fun?  No,  indeed;  wit  and  learning  did 
it.  His  club  name  was  Von  Crambograph,  and  it  was 
his  privilege  to  record  what  he  pleased  as  the  doings  of  the 
meeting,  putting  what  words  he  chose  into  the  mouths  of 
the  members.  The  reading  of  the  record  was  generally 
the  choice  morsel  of  the  evening.  General  Winder,  one  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  bar  was  an  active  member, 
called  in  the  Club,  Opechancanough  Sulikonqui;  Breckin- 
ridge,  the  author  of  "Modern  Chivalry,"  was  another. 
John  Neal,  still  living,  the  only  survivor  besides  myself; 
another  was  Solomon  Allen,  the  Editor  of  the  'Chronicle'; 
another  yclept  Solomon  Fitzquiz,  of  the  direst  humor, 
Dr.  McCullough,  the  author  of  antiquarian  researches,  the 
only  man  in  Baltimore  that  the  Abbe*  Correa  da  Serra* 
asked  for  as  worth  knowing — I  forget  his  Club  name. 
Pierrepoint,  the  poet,  was  another.  His  name  does  not 
come  to  me  either.  Professor  Ducatel,  called  Basaltes 
Craniosiorsus,  William  Gwynn,  perpetual  Flamen,  entitled 
)dopceus  Iliyosticus,  and  myself,  who  rejoiced  in  the  name 
)f  Sir  Joselyn  Mittimus  of  Mittimus  Hall.  These  made 
the  nine.  Then  we  had  William  West,  Fielding  Lucas, 
Francis  Foster,  the  giant  good  fellow,  who  had  taught  me 
writing  at  St.  Mary's,  and  perhaps  more  whose  names  I 
have  forgotten.  The  records  were  the  delight  of  Dr.  Readel. 
?hey  were  kept  in  folio  volumes,  whose  chirography  was 
>eautiful,  and  were  filled  with  wit;  the  contributions  of  the 
lembers,  if  he  deemed  them  worthy,  being  transcribed  into 

*  A  bbe  Correa:  Jose  Correa  da  Serra,  Minister  from  Portugal,  the  most  famous 
rit  and  epigrammatist  of  his  day.    He  it  was  who  called  Washington  the  "City 
magnificent  distances." 


186  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

it.  After  the  club  disbanded,  Readel  commenced  an  ex 
purgated  edition  in  quarto — for  these  were  specimens  of 
wit  that  were  freer  than  he  fancied  they  should  be.  I 
should  be  glad  to  see  them  once  more.  They  are  in  exist 
ence  somewhere.  It  was  a  rare  companionship  for  a  lad 
of  two  or  three  and  twenty,  but  time  and  circumstances 
made  it  expedient  to  extinguish  the  club,  and  a  meeting  was 
held  of  such  members  as  could  be  gotten  together  at  the 
rooms  of  the  Flamen,  and  in  succession,  each  member  was 
regularly  expelled,  until  none  remained  save  the  Flamen 
and  the  secretary.  But  the  former  had  two  votes,  so  he 
expelled  the  secretary,  and  then  sent  in  his  own  resignation 
to  Apollo.  It  was  melancholy,  and  Von  Crambograph's 
eyes  filled  with  tears  as  he  delivered  his  beloved  records  to 
the  Flamen,  whose  voice  was  choked  as  he  attempted  to 
reply.  If  these  were  men  playing  child's  play,  it  was  a 
pleasant  play,  and  innocent  recreation,  and  the  Delphians, 
noted  and  renowned  even  at  the  time,  are  now  but  a  shadow 
of  a  memory — and  that  fast  fading  into  the  invisible. 

"I  have  mentioned  the  rooms  of  the  Flamen — they  were 
in  a  graceful  little  building,  designed  by  Robert  Carey 
Long,  in  the  rear  of  the  Gazette  office,  and  called  the  Tus- 
culum;  and  here,  after  the  Delphian  died,  would  collect 
many  of  the  choice  spirits  of  the  day,  our  champagne  paid 
for  by  assessments  of  fifty  cents  on  each  person  present. 
Champagne,  the  best,  then  cost  $1.50  a  bottle.  At  these 
meetings  Mr.  Gwynn  presided,  and  we  used  to  meet  many 
a  clever  man,  now  long  since  dead.  I  recall  particularly 
the  late  Judge  Frick,*  who  was  the  life  and  soul  of  any 
circle  that  he  joined,  and  who  used  to  set  to  music  the  rhymes 
I  wrote,  to  be  published  by  John  Cole,  another  humorist 
who  visited  at  the  Tusculum.  Also  Colonel  Hamilton  of 

*  William  Frick,  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court,  died  1855. 


MRS.  WARING  AS  MARGARET 
In  "A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts,"  drawn  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobc 


,K 

.ft  .ft  ««V.  =b  ", 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  187 

South  American  fame.*  I  met  there  Sheridan  Knowles, 
actor  and  author,  who  left  the  stage  to  become  a  Baptist 
minister,  and  many,  many  others.  Philip  Lawrenson  was 
a  constant  visitor;  he  was  educated  a  priest  at  St.  Omers, 
and  was  at  this  time  the  principal  grocer  in  the  City.  A 
slight  touch  of  Bohemianism  about  me  is  to  be  traced,  I 
think,  to  the  Tusculum. 

"This  same  Bohemianism  made  me  acquainted  with 
artists,  and,  now  and  then,  with  an  actor  or  actress.  I 
knew  Sully  well — one  of  his  best  known  paintings  is  'Wash 
ington  Crossing  the  Delaware' — and  learned  from  him  to 
paint  in  oil;  Albright,  a  clever  landscape  painter,  for  whom 
I  occasionally  put  in  figures  in  foregrounds — certainly  on 
two  occasions;  and  Nagle  whom  I  knew  but  slightly. 

"I  was  always  devoted  to  the  theatre.  Not  far  from  the 
portion  of  Baltimore  already  described  was  Holliday  Street 
Theatre.  The  attraction  here  was  acting,  not  scenery  nor 
the  comfort  experienced  by  the  audience.  The  price  for 
admission  was  one  dollar  for  the  boxes,  seventy-five  cents  for 
what  was  then  called  the  pit,  and  fifty  cents  for  the  gallery. 
The  seats  in  the  former  were  long,  uncushioned  benches, 
without  backs,  and  the  cry  to  'sit  closer'  was  common. 
As  to  the  scenery,  the  less  said  about  it  the  better,  for  it  was 
execrably  bad.  But  the  acting  compensated  for  all  deficien 
cies.  There  was  Warren  whom  I  knew  and  saw  often  at 
Mr.  Gwynn's.  He  was  the  best  Falstaff  and  the  best  Sir 
Peter  Teazle  that  ever  trod  any  stage.  There  was  Wood 
whose  Joseph  Surface,  Marlowe,  Captain  Absolute,  could 
not  be  excelled.  Mrs.  Waring  was  one  of  the  best  actresses 
of  her  day.  I  have  now  a  fair  profile  likeness  of  her  drawn 

*  Colonel  J.  P.  Hamilton  was  the  head  of  the  Commission  appointed  by  Great 
Britain  to  investigate  the  conditions  of  Colombia.  He  wrote  a  book  entitled 
"  Travels  through  the  Interior  Province  of  Colombia." 


188  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

from  memory  as  'Margaret'  in  'The  New  Way  to  Pay 
Old  Debts.'  I  knew  Mrs.  Duff  the  tragedienne,  with  Mr. 
Duff  as  a  tragedian.  The  elder  Booth  described  her  as 
being  the  best  actress  in  the  world.  There  was  Clara 
Fisher,  afterwards  Mrs.  Meader,  for  whom  I  wrote  the  song 
'All  Hail  to  the  Brave  and  Free,'  which  John  Cole  set  to 
the  French  Air  of  'Le  Petit  Tournebour,'  and  which  was  sung 
on  the  occasion  of  the  Greek  Benefit,  and  whistled  by  the 
negroes  for  some  weeks  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore.  And 
Mrs.  Francis  Wallack  at  the  head  of  what  is  known  as 
genteel  comedy;  Jefferson,  the  grandfather  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle;  Wilkins,  whose  Tony  Lumpkin  was  renowned; 
Thayer,  one  of  the  best  light  comedians  of  the  day.  These, 
with  Mr  and  Mrs.  Barnes  and  others,  were  the  stock  com 
pany  which,  oscillating  between  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and 
Washington,  attracted  crowds  to  old  Holliday  before  the 
stars  of  the  theatrical  heaven  dimmed  inferior  luminaries. 
Mr.  Cole  got  me  to  write  for  him,  to  a  well-known  French 
air,  'Our  Way  Across  the  Sea,'  generally  known  as  'Home, 
Fare  Thee  Well,'  which  had  a  great  run  and  is,  sometimes, 
still  in  repute  with  young  ladies.  To  please  Colonel  Ham 
ilton  I  wrote,  too,  the  lines  beginning  'We  have  broken 
the  fetters  that  have  bound  us'  to  the  air  of  a  grand  old 
Spanish  song.  I  wrote  the  verses  and  Judge  Frick  set  them 
to  music.  Another  short  lived  favorite  Cole  published, 
'Oh,  lady,  if  I  were  the  Knight  of  Old.'  Besides  all  this 
music  I  wrote  year  after  year  the  addresses  of  the  carriers 
of  the  Gazette,  trying  to  make  them  better  than  common, 
but  with  all  I  worked  at  law  and  gradually  got  more  and 
more  to  do. 

"Literature  in  those  days  was  represented  by  the  Library 
which  had  its  home  next  door  to  the  theatre;  and,  to  the 
credit  of  the  City  be  it  said,  its  admirable  collection  of  books, 


THE  ELDER  BOOTH  AS  SIR  GILES  OVERREACH 
Drawn  by  John  H.  B.  Lalrobe 


wsooa  siaaia  am 


\ 


J 


. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  189 

now  belonging  to  the  Historical  Society,  was  thoroughly 
appreciated  and  in  constant  use." 

The  assembly  room  and  library  of  which  Mr.  Latrobe 
speaks  were  erected  in  1797,  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
Fayette  and  Holliday  Streets. 

Rembrandt  Peale  (whose  father,  Charles  Wilson  Peale, 
was  the  greater  artist)  erected  a  building  afterwards  used 
as  the  City  Hall  on  Holliday  Street.  When  owned  by 
Rembrandt  Peale  it  was  known  as  the  Baltimore  Museum. 
The  museum  was  afterwards  transferred  to  the  corner  of 
Baltimore  and  Calvert  Streets,  and  purchased  by  P.  T. 
Barnum  in  1845;  and  here  some  of  the  leading  actors  and 
actresses  of  the  day  made  their  debut. 

"Wealth  had  much  less  to  do  with  social  position  then 
than  it  has  now.  In  1824  a  salary  of  $3000  per  annum 
gave  its  possessor  the  reputation  of  being  a  rich  man.  The 
cashiers  of  great  banks  got  no  more.  When  Mr.  Louis 
McLane  was  invited  to  take  the  presidency  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad  Co.,  he  was  offered  $4000,  which  was 
regarded  as  a  very  great  salary,  sufficiently  large  to  tempt 
him  to  leave  New  York  where  he  was  president  of  the  Morris 
Canal  and  a  banking  company.  Few  professional  men 
made  more.  If  people's  means  were  moderate,  their  expenses 
were  in  proportion.  A  lady's  silk  dress  could  be  obtained, 
trimmings  and  all,  for  twelve  dollars.  Eight  yards  of  gros 
de  Naples  were  all  that  was  required  at  one  dollar  a  yard. 
If  a  merchant's  wife,  whose  husband  was  in  fair  business, 
gave  one  hundred  dollars  for  an  India  shawl,  if  it  did  not 
affect  business  it  was  a  matter  greatly  talked  about.  There 
was  a  club  composed  of  leading  belles  of  the  City,  called 
the  'Cotton  Cambric  Society,'  who  rejoiced  in  not  wearing 
silks  at  balls  and  parties,  nor  have  I  ever  understood  that 
they  perilled  the  reputation  of  Baltimore  for  beauty  on 
that  account. 


190  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"It  was  necessary  to  have  the  reputation  for  wealth  in 
those  days  to  justify  keeping  a  carriage.  Indeed,  in  1824, 
I  think  there  were  not  a  dozen  private  carriages  in  Baltimore, 
not  because  of  the  excellency  of  the  hacks,  for  they  were 
worse  than  indifferent,  but  because  the  style  of  living  was 
plainer,  and  that  strife  had  not  arisen  in  which  victory 
constituted  outdoing  your  neighbor  in  dress  and  equipage. 
In  a  word,  society  was  on  a  simpler,  easier  and  more 
natural  footing  than  it  afterwards  became.  Mothers 
and  fathers  still  accompanied  their  children  to  balls  and 
parties.  Mature  ladies  still  danced  while  daughters  looked 
on.  The  cotillon  ruled  the  day.  An  occasional  whirl  in 
what  was  called  a  'Spanish  Dance'  was  regarded  as  doubtful 
propriety,  and  when  one  couple  more  audacious  than  the 
rest  went  to  the  extreme  of  a  regular  waltz,  mothers  turned 
their  backs  in  dismay,  and  melancholy  were  the  predictions 
of  the  future." 

Gallatin  writes  of  New  York,  July  24,  1823: 

"There  are  only  about  three  private  coaches  in  New 
York.  No  means  of  getting  about.  The  streets  are  abso 
lutely  filthy  ....  the  horrible  chewing  of  tobacco; 
the  spitting — all  too  awful. 

July  8th.  We  are  in  Baltimore,  not  quite  so  dirty  as  New 
York." 

"At  a  dinner  all  the  dishes  were  set  on  the  table  at  the 
same  time,  and  woe  to  the  guest  who  had  a  popular  dish 
before  him.  Courses  were  unheard  of. 

"Among  my  law  labors  was  a  case  given  to  me  by  one  of 
my  fellow  students  in  General  Harper's  office.  It  involved 
a  good  deal  of  delicate  investigation  and  made  a  stir  at 
the  time.  Mr.  M.  had  married  the  daughter  of  his  second 
wife  by  a  former  husband  under  circumstances  that  were 
not  the  most  delicate,  as  it  was  reported;  and  her  half  brother, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  191 

my  fellow  student,  caused  the  husband  to  be  prosecuted 
under  an  Act  of  Assembly  of  Maryland  that  imposed  a 
penalty  in  such  a  case.  My  colleague  was  my  after-life 
long  friend,  John  P.  Kennedy.  We  convicted  M.  and  the 
result  was  a  final  separation.  For  this  trial,  which  was  had 
in  Annapolis,  I  received  one  hundred  dollars,  and  presented 
to  my  mother  and  sister  silk  dresses,  and  I  record  the  fact 
that  the  dresses  cost  nine  dollars  each,  being  full  patterns  of 
gros  de  nap  at  one  dollar  per  yard. " 

William  Howard,  who  was  one  of  the  sons  of  John  Eager 
Howard,  was  a  client  of  Mr.  Latrobe,  and  he  has  spoken  of 
him  elsewhere  in  his  autobiography  as  being  a  man  of  genius. 
It  is  apparent  that  Mr.  Latrobe  did  not  by  any  means  over 
estimate  the  value  of  his  services,  for  I  found  among  his 
papers  the  following  addressed  to  him: — 

"1828 

"Dear  sir: — 

"Enclosed  is  a  check  for  one  hundred  dollars  to  you 
order.  I  am  very  sorry  to  differ  with  you  in  opinion  at  any 
time,  but  in  the  present  case,  from  the  trouble  I  have  given 
you  and  am  now  giving  you,  I  must  take  the  liberty  of 
saying  that  the  fee  you  mention  is  by  no  means  an  adequate 

one. 

Yours  truly, 

WILLIAM  HOWARD." 

"There  was  Robert  Oliver,  the  leading  merchant  of  this 
City  and  a  noble  old  gentleman,  upwards  of  six  feet  in 
height,  a  powerfully  built  man,  erect  as  an  Indian,  with 
handsome  features,  a  florid  complexion,  and  the  very  image 
of  health  and  strength  at  three  score  and  ten.  His  hair 
was  white  and  thin,  his  grey  eyes  keen,  and  with  a  dash  of 
merriment  in  them.  Splendid  horseman,  and  the  leader 


192  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

always  in  the  hunt.  There  was  something  in  the  tone 
of  his  voice  that- inspired  you  with  confidence  in  this  giant 
of  a  man.  He  gave  me  my  first  lesson  in  the  importance  of 
punctuality  at  a  dinner  party,  as  he  announced  in  his 
merry  manner,  when  he  chose  to  be  merry — none  more  so — 
that  I  was  ten  minutes  past  the  hour.  At  twenty,  one 
submits  to  rebukes  on  such  occasions,  as  well  as  deserves 
them.  There  is  not  one  merchant  I  have  known  since 
Mr.  Oliver's  day  that  had  his  presence,  his  port,  and  his 
power — no,  not  one." 

Robert  Oliver  of  Harewood,  described  by  Mr.  Latrobe, 
was  deeply  interested  in  agriculture,  besides  being  one  of  the 
leading  merchants  of  Baltimore.  In  a  book  published  in 
1908,  "Coke  of  Norfolk,"  we  have  a  record  of  his  having 
visited  at  Holkham,  the  country  seat  of  Thomas  William 
Coke,  first  Earl  of  Leicester,  at  Holkham. 

"Mr.  Oliver,"  writes  a  common  acquaintance,  "often 
exclaims  that  his  visit  to  you  alone  was  worth  the  voyage 
across  the  Atlantic.  Mr.  Oliver  has  enlarged  and  improved 
his  system  of  farming  since  his  return,  no  doubt  to  imitate 
your  great  example,  so  that  he  is  now  considered  the  Coke 
of  Maryland" 

Coke  was  a  strong  friend  of  his  trans-Atlantic  cousins. 
In  the  House  of  Commons  he  was  a  friend  of  Fox,  and  his 
house  was  always  opened  to  visitors  from  America.  Among 
other  names  registered  there  we  find  Richard  Caton,  Robert 
Patterson,  whose  wife  was  Mary  Caton,  and  many  other 
Americans.  In  a  public  speech  he  stated  that  the  hands 
of  George  III  were  red  with  the  blood  of  English  patriots 
of  America.  This  speech  deprived  him  of  an  earldom, 
for  George  IV  said  he  would  not  give  an  earldom  to  a  man 
who  called  his  father  a  murderer.  Coke  did  not  come 
into  the  earldom  until  after  the  death  of  George  IV.  He  had 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  193 

no  son  by  his  first  wife,  and  the  failure  of  male  heirs  would 
have  caused  the  title  to  fall  to  his  nephew  who  was  a  dis 
sipated  person.  After  he  had  been  a  widower  for  a  number 
of  years  he  became  anxious  that  his  nephew  should  marry 
in  order  to  perpetuate  the  name  and  title  in  the  family. 
He  was  then  sixty-nine  years  of  age,  a  master  of  the  hounds, 
and  a  splendid  figure  of  a  man.  He  called  on  Lady  Keppel, 
a  young  woman  of  twenty  years,  and  urged  her  to  marry 
his  nephew.  The  old  story  of  John  Alden  and  Priscilla 
was  re-enacted.  When  the  girl  stated  that  if  he  asked  her 
in  his  own  behalf  she  would  marry  him,  he  adopted  the 
suggestion  and  married  her.  He  had  four  boys.  When 
the  news  of  the  last  arrival  was  received  at  the  House  of 
Lords,  of  which  he  was  a  member  (he  was  then  seventy- 
eight  years  of  age),  the  House  arose,  as  he  walked  across 
the  floor,  and  applauded. 

In  the  Creevy  Papers,  1768-1838,  Volume  II,  folio  332, 
Creevy  writes  of  a  hunt  led  by  Coke  at  eighty-five,  his 
chief  competitor  being  his  son  of  fifteen — a  remarkable 
case  of  vigor  and  vitality.  At  a  public  dinner  in  1820, 
Coke  said:  "Every  night  during  the  American  war  did  I 
drink  the  health  of  George  Washington  as  the  greatest 
man  on  earth."  We  presume  this  toast  was  drunk  not  as 
an  excuse  to  take  a  drink,  but  as  an  evidence  of  his  sympathy 
and  interest  in  the  American  cause. 

"Then  there  was  Robert  Gilmor,  a  very  different  sort 
of  man.  A  merchant,  too,  but  with  great  wealth  derived 
from  his  father,  who  was  another  of  the  merchant  princes 
of  the  olden  day.  But  Mr.  Gilmor's  tastes  were  not  count 
ing-room  ones.  He  loved  art  and  science.  A  man  much 
below  the  common  size,  stooping,  walking  apparently  with 
difficulty  at  times  when  affected  with  asthma,  to  which  he 
was  subject.  He  was  a  refined  and  elegant  gentleman,  of 


194  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

polite  manner,  and  many  accomplishments.  His  home, 
besides  being  a  picture  gallery,  was  the  home  of  elegant  hospi 
tality,  and  by  none  could  the  honours  of  such  an  establish 
ment  have  been  done  with  more  effect  than  by  his  beautiful 
wife  and  himself.  While  he  lived  he  was  my  kind  and 
constant  friend.  Our  tastes  for  art  in  common  drew  us 
together,  and  I  was  a  constant  visitor  at  his  house.  His 
portrait  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  is  the  best  of  that  great 
painter's  work  in  America.  I  ought  to  say  male  portrait, 
for  the  portrait  of  Lady  Wellesley  by  the  same  artist  is 
fully  equal  in  its  way.  These  were  days  when  gentlemen 
prided  themselves  on  their  wines;  nor  was  Mr.  Gilmor 
without  a  cellar  that  warranted  even  a  weakness  in  this 
respect.  There  was  one  thing  in  this  connection,  however, 
that  he  was  particular  about;  and  it  was  at  his  table  I  first 
learned  the  phrase,  "Fill  what  you  please,  but  drink  what 
you  fill."  Between  Mr.  Gilmor  and  myself  there  was  a 
strong  mutual  regard,  which  led  me  to  dedicate  to  him 
'Lucas'  Progressive  Drawing  Book,'  which,  however  inferior 
it  would  now  appear,  was  at  the  time  of  its  publication  a 
work  of  some  consequence  and  value  of  its  class.  To  Mr. 
Gilmor,  as  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Washington  Monument, 
fell  the  arrangement  of  the  inscriptions,  and  the  preparation 
of  them  was  one  of  the  things  in  which,  in  consultation 
with  him,  'I  bore  a  hand.'  This  monument,  begun  in 
1815,  languished  for  the  want  of  funds  until  1829,  when  it 
was  completed  with  State  money  and  a  lottery. 

"I  soon  found  out  that  fashionable  balls  and  parties  and 
invitations  to  luxurious  tables  were  not  likely  to  advance  one 
in  my  profession  by  adding  to  my  list  of  clients;  and  that 
I  must  begin  with  a  very  different  class  of  persons,  if  I 
wished  to  succeed  as  a  lawyer.  My  political  efforts  did 
me  some  services,  perhaps.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  did 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  195 

not  derive  some  advantage  from  being  a  member  of  a 
beneficial  society,  whose  Treasurer  was  a  devout  member 
of  church,  but  whose  necessities  required  him  to  use  some  con 
siderable  amount  of  our  funds.  I  think  my  military  offices 
of  Captain  of  the  Chasseurs  and  Sharpshooters  and  Aide 
to  the  Major-General  were  important  in  multiplying  ac 
quaintances  in  the  class  apt  to  employ  young  men. 

"There  was  an  apprentices'  library  in  those  days  in  a 
room  over  the  old  Watch  House,  in  Belvedere  Street, 
which  owed  its  origin  and  maintenance  to  a  worthy  gentle 
man  named  Roberts,  who  earned  his  bread  in  some  capacity 
that  afforded  him  just  enough  of  that  indispensable  article 
and  none  to  spare.  Somehow  I  became  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Roberts  and  agreed  to  deliver  to  his  boys  in  the  Library 
Room  lectures  on  history  and  geography  during  the  long 
winter  evenings.  This  I  did  most  faithfully,  reading  up 
for  each  evening's  work  and  speaking  from  notes.  This 
was  an  excellent  school  for  me,  in  more  ways  than  one. 
Every  now  and  then  today  some  gray  headed  old  fellow 
claims  acquaintance  as  one  of  my  hearers  half  a  century 
ago."  (The  manuscripts  of  these  lectures  delivered  in 
1824  are  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Latrobe.) 

"The  Philokrean  Society  was  still  alive,  and  its  annual 
oratory  had  been  delivered  successively  by  Mr.  Steele, 
Mr.  Tevis,  Mr.  Richardson,  and  David  Stewart,  all  after 
wards  prominent  lawyers,  when  the  choice  fell  on  me  and 
and  I  held  forth  in  the  court  room  of  the  U.  S.  Court  in  the 
old  Masonic  Hall  to  an  audience  of  the  fashionable  world, 
for  we  were  simple  folk  in  those  days,  and  small  matters 
attracted  us.  I  mention  the  incident  because  it  would 
seem  from  my  education  that  I  had  at  that  time  won  a 
standing  that  was  at  least  respectable  among  the  young 
lawyers  and  students  of  my  day. 


196  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"  General  Harper  died  in  the  winter  following  Lafayette's 
visit.  I  was  confined  at  home  by  indisposition  when  I 
heard  of  it.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  alive  was  when  he 
called  to  see  me  as  I  lay  in  bed,  bringing  me  his  pocket  full 
of  oranges.  I  see  him  now  as  he  stood  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed  and  talked  to  me  so  kindly.  I  loved  him  very  dearly 
and  mourned  him  truly.  I  followed  him  to  his  grave  at 
"Oaklands,"  his  country  seat.  I  designed  his  monument, 
which  was  executed  in  Italy  and  is  now  in  Greenmount, 
having  been  removed  from  "Oaklands"  when  the  place 
passed  out  of  the  family.  After  his  death  I  removed  my 
office  from  the  back  room  in  Gay  Street  to  the  old  Athe 
naeum,  afterwards  burned  down  and  rebuilt  as  the  present 
'Law  Building'  (now  the  'Plaza').  T  was  admitted  to  prac 
tice  in  May,  1824,  and  removed  to  the  Athenaeum  the  follow 
ing  winter  or  early  spring. 

"As  soon  as  I  was  admitted  to  the  bar  I  tried,  of  course, 
to  work  for  success^  but  I  had  many  things  to  discourage 
me.  I  had  not  one  single  friend  to  push  me  forward.  I  had 
no  acquaintance  with  the  world  of  merchants,  and  even  now 
I  wonder  how  I  got  along  at  all.  In  one  of  my  note  books 
there  are  some  comments  made  at  the  time,  in  which  I  speak 
of  "  Hope  without  success  becoming  changed  into  melancholy 
indifference. "  I  have  already  stated  that  I  kept  a  record 
of  every  fee  I  ever  received  in  my  life,  from  the  lowest — 
when  a  man  named  Wynds,  dying  of  consumption  and  just 
able  to  creep  about,  employed  me  to  make  his  will  and 
offered  me  three  dollars  which  I  indignantly  refused  as 
below  the  minimum  of  five  dollars,  but  which  he  left  in 
silver  half  dollars  at  the  corner  of  my  table,  saying  he  in 
tended  to  die  owing  no  man,  and  which,  notwithstanding  my 
disclaimer,  I  pocketed  when  he  went  away — up  to  the 

),000  fee  for  five  months  work  in  Russia,  besides  all  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  197 

expenses  of  my  journey  and  residence  in  St.  Petersburg. 
And  had  I  this  record  before  me  a  thousand  things  would 
be  recalled  that  might  afford  material  for  my  reminiscences. 

"I  think  perhaps  I  owed  a  shove  ahead  professionally 
to  a  queer  case,  which  at  a  later  date  was  recalled  to  me  by 
Dickens'  novel  of  'A  Tale  of  Two  Cities.' 

"Aspirants  for  the  laurels  of  the  bar  in  those  days  usu 
ally  sought  the  smallest  sprigs  in  the  City  Court,  where  the 
late  Judges  Brice,  McMechen  and  Worthington  presided 
over  the  criminal  trials,  and  where  I  among  others  used 
to  take  my  seat.  On  one  occasion  a  prisoner  was  put  into 
the  box  charged  with  robbing  an  old  lady,  who  had  some 
small  matters  in  the  Lexington  Market,  of  a  few  dollars 
in  silver  change.  Judge  Brice,  when  the  man  said  he  had 
no  counsel,  asked  me  to  serve  as  such,  and  I  accordingly 
consulted  forthwith  the  client  thus  thrown  upon  me.  He 
had  no  other  defense  than  his  own  persistent  denial.  The 
witness  was  the  market  woman  who  described  the  theft 
as  having  been  committed  in  the  dark  of  the  evening, 
and  identified  the  thief  by  a  remarkable  scar  which  traversed 
his  face  diagonally  from  one  side  of  his  temple  to  the  opposite 
side  of  his  chin,  creasing  his  nose  heavily  en  route.  The 
man  was  a  light  mulatto,  and  the  scar  had  healed  of  a 
bluish  white.  The  identification  was  so  positive  and  the 
proof  was  so  strong  that  there  was  apparently  no  hope  of 
my  success,  when  the  court  took  its  usual  recess  of  ten 
minutes.  I  left  the  court  room  and  returning  to  the  Hall 
saw  to  my  surprise  my  client  in  freedom,  talking  very  un 
concernedly  to  another  person.  I  asked  him  how  he  had 
escaped.  He  looked  astonished  and  said  he  had  never  been 
in  court.  Yet,  there  was  the  man  I  was  defending  to  all 
appearances.  The  same  stature,  the  same  complexion  and 
the  same  remarkable  scar.  I  persuaded  him  to  return  with 


198  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

me  and  placing  him  in  the  box  alongside  of  the  prisoner 
recalled  the  market  woman  and  asked  which  of  the  men 
had  robbed  her.  She  looked  at  them  in  amazement,  ex 
claiming — 'Good  Lord,  was  there  ever  the  like.'  As  she 
could  not  say  which  of  the  two  had  taken  her  money,  the 
identity  was  not  found,  and  my  client  was  acquitted,  the 
Attorney  General  directing  the  jury  to  find  their  verdict 
of  'not  guilty.' 

"The  oddity  of  the  case  attracted  some  little  notice  and 
the  late  Elias  Glenn,  who  was  then  prosecuting  for  the  State 
in  the  same  court,  asked  me  to  join  him  in  prosecuting  a 
man  named  McCullough,  for  passing  counterfeit  money, 
both  notes  and  silver.  Mr.  Compher  had  brought  a  wagon 
and  team  of  six  horses  to  Baltimore,  where  he  had  some 
horse  trade  with  this  man  McCullough  who  kept  a  feed 
store  in  Franklin  Street.  McCullough  was  arrested  for 
passing  counterfeit  money,  which  he  swore  he  had  received 
from  the  wagoner,  against  whom  he  procured  a  warrant 
and,  following  him  a  day  or  so  afterwards,  overtook  him  at 
Westminster,  where  his  wagon  was  seized  and  counterfeit 
half  dollars  and  notes  of  the  same  description  that  Mc 
Cullough  had  received  were  found  in  the  front  portion. 
At  McCullough's  trial  all  this  was  sworn  to  and  when  the 
case  was  at  an  end  for  the  day,  which  luckily  was  Saturday, 
McCullough's  acquittal,  which  involved  the  conviction  of 
Compher,  seemed  certain.  But  soon  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  court  I  was  told,  or  rather  I  learned  in  a  very  round 
about  way  and  through  a  very  odd  channel,  that  a  hack- 
man  named  Fresh  could  give  me  important  information 
if  he  would.  Finding  Fresh  with  some  difficulty  I  learned 
that  he  had  driven  McCullough  to  Westminster  on  the 
night  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  been  arrested  on  the  charge 
of  passing  counterfeit  money  and  released  on  bail.  It  was 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  199 

dark  by  the  time  I  had  closed  my  interview  with  the  hack- 
man  whom  I  dispatched  forthwith  to  Westminster,  taking 
with  him  Compher's  brother,  a  very  intelligent  person, 
with  instructions  to  find  out  what  he  could;  and  if  witnesses 
could  be  procured,  to  bring  them  back  in  Fresh's  hack  to 
Baltimore  and  to  my  office  early  on  Monday  morning. 
This  visit  was  pregnant  with  results.  It  so  happened 
that  a  butcher  who  lived  hard  by  the  wagon  house,  where 
the  wagoner's  brother  had  halted  with  his  team  on  reaching 
the  village,  had  been  called  out  of  his  house  at  day  break, 
and  had  seen  a  carriage  coming  from  the  direction  of  Balti 
more,  drive  around  the  wagon,  stopping  in  front  of  it  long 
enough  to  permit  a  stout  man  in  a  plaid  cloak  to  descend, 
mount  the  wagon  pole,  and  bury  his  hand  and  arm  in  the 
fore  part  of  the  vehicle.  The  hack  had  then  been  driven 
to  the  cabin,  where  its  single  occupant  got  out  and  warmed 
himself,  giving  out  that  he  had  come  from  the  west  and 
was  going  to  Baltimore.  Another  witness  had  noticed  the 
tracks  of  the  hack  on  a  light  snow  that  had  fallen  during  the 
night.  Now,  the  officers  who  had  followed  Compher's 
wagon  on  McCullough's  information  had  found  in  the  front 
of  it  a  tin  box  containing  counterfeit  notes  and  half  dollars, 
on  the  strength  of  which  finding  he  had  been  arrested.  It 
so  happened  that  McCullough  kept  a  feed  store,  had  a 
plaid  cloak,  and  dealt  in  such  cut  straw  as  the  half  dollars 
were  packed  in,  and  subscribed  to  the  Federal  Gazette, 
in  which  the  bank  notes  were  wrapped.  The  hackman 
had  given  me  the  information  that  led  to  all  this,  upon  the 
express  condition  that  he  should  not  be  summoned.  But 
there  was  testimony  enough  without  him. 

"Mr.  Glenn,  who  on  Saturday  had  determined  as  pros 
ecuting  attorney  to  abandon  the  case,  agreed  to  go  on 
with  it  on  Monday,  and  the  day  was  occupied  in  the  exami- 


200  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

nation  of  the  witnesses.  Our  opponent  was  Mr.  Thomas 
Jennings,  the  ablest  criminal  lawyer  at  the  bar,  and  he  did 
his  best  for  McCullough,  but  the  circumstantial  evidence 
was  overwhelming.  He  was  convicted  and  sent  to  the 
penitentiary.  The  trial  took  place  on  a  day  in  July,  and 
I  was  to  speak  after  the  lights  were  lit  in  the  court  room. 
I  was  so  interested,  and  it  was  so  hot,  that  thoughtless  of 
all  etiquette  I  pulled  off  my  coat,  and  put  on  a  white  linen 
roundabout.  The  associate  Justices,  Worthington  and 
McMechen,  were  on  the  point  of  reproving  me,  when 
Judge  Brice  intervened  in  my  behalf.  'Let  him  alone,' 
he  said,  'He's  brim  full,  and  it  may  break  him  down  now 
and  forever,  if  we  scold  him.'  This  case  made  me  many 
friends,  and  besides  the  $30  that  Compher  paid  me  brought 
me  some  Criminal  Court  success. 

"Things  slip  from  my  recollection  while  I  am  writing, 
or  rather  my  mind  skips  them  over,  obliging  me  to  go  back 
to  them  when  they  afterwards  occur  to  me.  It  is  a  lawyer's 
life  that  I  am  writing,  and  so  my  early  practice  claims  a 
place  upon  my  pages.  When  General  Harper  died  he  was 
engaged  as  counsel  for  Mr.  Nicholas  M.  Bosley,  a  very 
wealthy  merchant,  one  whose  ships  had  been  libelled  for 
seaman's  wages  by  a  mate  whose  connections  made  the  case 
one  of  feeling.  As  a  compliment  to  General  Harper's 
memory,  Mr.  Bosley,  to  whom  I  had  as  a  student  taken 
messages  on  law  matters  from  the  General,  told  me  to 
consider  myself  in  the  place  of  my  late  master  and  as  junior 
counsel  to  Mr.  Taney,  who  had  been  employed  to  succeed 
him.  Of  course,  I  put  "my  best  foot  foremost,"  and  read 
all  that  could  be  found  on  the  subject  and  prepared  a  brief. 
Mr.  Taney  asked  to  see  it,  spoke  kindly  of  it,  and  then  say 
ing  that  it  was  only  fair  I  should  see  his,  handed  it  to  me. 
When  I  proposed  to  return  it,  'Not  at  all,'  he  said,  'I  place 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  201 

it  at  your  disposal.  If  you  can  make  use  of  it,  I  shall  be 
all  the  better  pleased;  though  do  not  let  it  interfere  with 
your  own  line  of  argument.'  When  I  said  something  about 
availing  of  his  labors,  he  replied,  'Never  mind  that,  I  shall 
no  doubt  find  something  to  say  in  reply  to  the  other  side, 
some  pickings  and  stealings.'  And  this  was  Mr.  Taney's 
way  invariably.  In  numerous  cases  afterwards,  he  was  the 
same  liberal  colleague,  very  different  in  this  respect  from 
Mr.  Wirt,  who  kept  his  own  counsel,  and  contributed  little 
in  consultation  with  his  colleague.  It  was  intensely  hot 
weather  when  we  tried  the  case  of  Smith  v.  Bosley  in  the 
District  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  I  was  in  a  profuse 
perspiration  while  I  spoke.  When  Mr.  Wirt  rose  to  reply, 
following  Mr.  Taney  and  myself,  after  some  complimentary 
remarks  he  continued,  'And  may  it  please  your  Honor, 
it  only  remains  for  me  to  say  in  this  connection,  that  I 
sincerely  hope  that  the  pearly  drops  that  have  fallen  from 
my  young  friend's  brow  may  be  regarded  by  his  client  as 
pearls  of  great  price,  and  paid  for  accordingly.'  Mr.  Wirt 
was  at  this  time  in  the  full  vigor  of  mind  and  body,  a  tall, 
portly,  erect,  and  pale  visaged  man,  with  noble  features 
and  majestic  carriage,  the  sweetness  of  whose  voice  was 
only  equalled  by  the  charm  of  his  smile.  Few  persons  that 
I  have  ever  met  with  had  this  same  presence,  and  in  social 
life  his  manner  was  the  perfection  of  refinement.  At  the 
bar  I  sometimes  thought  he  was  irritable;  but  this  was  an 
exception  to  his  general  manner,  which  was  eminently 
courteous  to  his  professional  brethren.  Mr.  Wirt  had  a 
strong  sense  of  the  ludicrous,  and  was  one  of  the  best  racon 
teurs  I  ever  listened  to. 

"I  was  never  satisfied  that  Mr.  Wirt  was  a  profound 
lawyer.  But  he  was  a  most  laborious  one.  The  trouble 
he  took  in  the  preparation  of  his  part  of  a  case  was  wonder- 


202  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

fill.  In  the  great  case  of  the  Canal  and  R.  R.  4  Gill  and 
J.  1,  I  was  junior  counsel  with  Mr.  Taney  and  Reverdy 
Johnson,  Mr.  Wirt  and  Mr.  Walter  Jones  on  the  other  side. 
From  the  window  of  my  room  at  Annapolis  I  could  look 
into  Mr.  Wirt's  room  across  the  yard  of  the  hotel,  and  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  have  seen  him  on  a  hot  summer 
night,  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  busily  engaged  in  writing,  where 
I  had  seen  him  at  the  same  work  since  supper  time.  He  had, 
when  he  spoke,  not  only  written  out  his  whole  argument, 
but  he  had  rewritten  it,  that  he  might  improve  and  condense 
it.  I  know  that  this  was  so,  for  he  showed  me  two  manu 
scripts.  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  a  great  cause  Mr.  Wirt's 
spoken  argument  would  have  been  almost  verbatim  his 
written  one.  But  it  is  an  error  to  suppose,  as  I  have  heard 
it  said,  that  he  was  not  a  fluent  extemporaneous  speaker. 
I  have  fancied  that  he  was  not  sure  of  himself  as  a  lawyer 
without  preparation  as  I  have  described,  and  did  not  trust 
himself  to  wander  from  the  manuscript,  of  which  he  had 
made  sure  beforehand. 

"Between  Mr.  Taney  and  Mr.  Wirt  there  was  the  greatest 
possible  difference  in  manner  and  appearance.  Portly  and 
erect,  with  what  must  have  been  a  handsome  figure  before 
he  assumed  Aldermanic  proportions,  Mr.  Wirt,  when  he 
rose  to  address  a  jury,  impressed  them  with  the  idea  of 
perfect  health,  whose  only  drawback  was  suggested  by  the 
pallor  of  his  skin.  His  opening  sentences  were  always 
accompanied  with  a  pleasant  smile,  and  it  was  apparent 
that  he  desired  to  establish  in  the  beginning  personal  re 
lations  with  those  to  whom  he  was  speaking.  His  voice  I 
have  already  described.  When  Mr.  Taney  rose  to  speak, 
you  saw  a  tall,  square  shouldered  man,  flat  breasted  in  a 
degree  to  be  remarked  upon,  with  a  stoop  that  made  his 
shoulders  even  more  prominent,  a  face  without  one  good 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  203 

feature,  a  mouth  unusually  large,  in  which  were  discolored 
and  irregular  teeth,  the  gums  of  which  were  visible  when 
he  smiled,  dressed  always  in  black,  his  clothes  sitting  ill 
upon  him,  his  hands  spare  with  projecting  veins — in  a  word, 
a  gaunt,  ungainly  man.  His  voice,  too,  was  hollow,  as 
the  voice  of  one  who  was  consumptive.  And  yet,  when  he 
began  to  speak,  you  never  thought  of  his  personal  appear 
ance,  so  clear,  so  simple,  so  admirably  arranged,  were  his 
low  voiced  words.  He  used  no  gestures.  He  used  even 
emphasis  but  sparely.  There  was  an  air  of  so  much  sin 
cerity  in  all  he  said  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  believe 
he  could  be  wrong.  Not  a  redundant  syllable,  not  a  phrase 
repeated,  and,  to  repeat,  so  exquisitely  simple.  I  remember 
once  hearing  him  in  a  complicated  case,  and,  when  he  sat 
down,  fancying  that  I  in  my  first  year's  practice  could 
have  done  as  well,  so  simple  had  become  complications  in 
his  hands. 

"In  connection  with  Mr.  Taney's  style  of  address,  a 
story  current  at  the  bar  was  that  Mr.  Pinkney  had  said 
when  speaking  of  it,  'I  can  answer  his  argument,  I  am  not 
afraid  of  his  logic,  but  that  infernal  apostolic  manner  of 
his  there  is  no  replying  to.": 

In  after  years  Mr.  Latrobe  and  Mr.  Taney  were  next 
door  neighbors.  Mr.  Latrobe  owned  and  lived  in  the  house 
on  the  N.  E.  corner  of  St.  Paul  and  Lexington  Street.  Mr. 
Taney  owned  and  lived  in  the  house  next  door.  In  ex 
tending  the  back  of  his  building,  Mr.  Taney  claimed  Mr. 
Latrobe  had  trespassed  on  his  lot,  'and,  notwithstanding 
his  apostolic  manner,  wrote  letters  with  little  of  the  apostolic 
spirit  in  them.  Reverdy  Johnson  was  agreed  upon  as 
arbitrator  and  established  the  dividing  line  by  a  deed  and 
opinion  recorded  in  1855  E.  D.  No.  94,  folio  494,  &c.,  and 
there  was  peace  between  the  houses  of  Latrobe  and  Taney. 


204  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"Mr.  Pinkney  I  never  saw.  He  died  the  year  I  returned 
from  West  Point  to  Baltimore.  Luther  Martin  I  saw,  but 
it  was  an  affecting  sight.  He  was  in  his  dotage.  He  used 
to  come  into  the  Courts  when  they  were  in  session,  an  aged 
man,  decrepit  in  his  movements,  dressed  in  the  style  of  the 
past  generation,  with  knee  breeches  and  buckles  in  his 
shoes,  a  long  flapped  white  waistcoat,  a  blue  coat  and  gilt 
buttons,  with  ruffles  at  his  wrist  and  on  the  bosom  of  his 
shirt.  On  one  occasion  he  came  into  the  Circuit  Court  of 
the  United  States  eating  a  star  ginger  bread  as  a  child  would 
do,  and  smiling  with  a  vacant  lack  lustre  eye  as  the  members 
of  the  bar  made  way  for  him." 

The  most  remarkable  piece  of  illegal  Legislation  was  en 
acted  by  the  Maryland  Legislature  by  which  a  tax  of  five 
dollars  per  annum  was  imposed  on  each  lawyer  in  the 
State  for  the  benefit  of  Luther  Martin,  demonstrative  of  the 
high  opinion  of  his  great  gifts,  destroyed  by  intemperance. 
Luther  Martin  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  lawyers  in 
Maryland.  He  was  one  of  the  delegates  representing 
Maryland  in  the  convention  held  in  1787  in  Philadelphia, 
which  framed  the  Federal  Constitution.  Martin  took  the 
position  that  the  appointment  of  these  delegates  was  to 
amend  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  not  to  form  a  na 
tion.  He  voted  "  no  "  on  all  propositions  which  in  his  opinion 
destroyed  or  interfered  with  the  right  of  the  State.  Upon 
returning  to  Maryland,  Luther  Martin  said,  "We  had  not 
been  sent  to  form  a  Government  over  the  inhabitants  of 
America,  considered  as  individuals.  The  system  of  govern 
ment  we  were  intending  to  prepare  was  a  Government  of 
thirteen  States."  (Gay's  Life  of  Madison,  pages  92  and 
93.) 

After  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  Martin  defended 
it  vigorously.  He  successfully  defended  Judge  Chase  of 


LOUISVILLE  (UPPER  LANDING),  1832 
Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Lalrobe 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891 


205 


the  Supreme  Court  when  he  was  impeached.  He  was  one 
of  the  counsel  of  Aaron  Burr,  and,  after  he  had  become 
an  imbecile  from  drink,  he  passed  his  last  years  at  Aaron 
Burr's  house,  dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-two.  (See  a  pam 
phlet  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  called  "Luther 
Martin,  The  Federal  Bulldog.") 

Perhaps  the  designation  of  the  "Federal  Bull  Dog," 
applied  to  Luther  Martin,  was  due  somewhat  to  his  fighting 
proclivities.  In  the  case  of  Martin  v.  State,  1st,  H.  &  J.  420, 
there  is  the  following  statement: 

"That  the  defendant  Martin  had  been  presented  in 
Dorchester  County  Court  in  one  hundred  and  one  cases 
for  assault  and  battery  ....  That  the  defendant 
appeared,  confessed  the  charges,  and  was  fined  in  each 
case. " 

In  this  case,  Pinkney,  representing  the  State,  speaking 
of  Martin  says: 

"He  would  not  long  trespass  on  the  patience  of  the  Court 
which  had  already  been  so  severely  taxed  by  the  long  argu 
ment  of  the  Attorney  General  whose  speech  was  distin 
guished  for  these  two  qualities,  that  of  being  remarkably 
redundant  and  remarkably  deficient  ....  He  acquits 
the  attorney-general  of  all  criminal  motives.  No  man  is 
better  acquainted  with  his  generosity  and  utter  negligence 
in  pecuniary  concerns." 

Here  the  question  was  the  collection  of  a  fee  as  Attorney 
General  by  Martin,  to  which  under  the  law  he  was  not 
entitled. 

"Then  there  was  General  Winder,  a  leader  of  the  Bar  of 
Baltimore,  who,  laying  aside  the  toga  for  the  sword,  com 
manded  the  Americans  at  the  Battle  of  Bladensburg.* 

*  The  disaster  is  described  in  an  article  in  the  Maryland  Historical  Magazine, 
Vol.  1,  Nos.  2  and  3. 


206  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

A  quick,  impulsive  speaker,  of  soldierly  abruptness,  a  well 
read  lawyer,  and  a  kind  and  genial  gentleman.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Delphian  Club,  and  rejoiced,  as  I  have 
already  mentioned,  in  the  cognomen  of  Opechancanough 
Sulikonqui. 

"John  Purviance  was  a  prominent  practitioner  in  those 
days,  a  learned  man,  a  man  of  precedents,  of  untiring 
labor,  with  no  pretensions  as  a  speaker,  but  so  honored  for 
his  honest  truthfulness  as  to  have  collected  around  him 
as  valuable  a  clientele  as  was  possessed  by  any  other  one 
of  the  profession." 

Jonathan  Meredith,  who  showed  his  generosity  to  Mr. 
Latrobe  as  later  stated,  is  thus  described  by  him: 

"Jonathan  Meredith  who  to  the  manner  of  a  man  of  the 
world  joined  the  knowledge  which  placed  him  high  in  the 
ranks  of  his  profession;  remarkable  for  careful  preparation 
and  studied  delivery,  few  men  addressed  the  bench,  who 
received  more  respectful  attention.  When  he  had  complet 
ed  the  investigation  of  a  case,  it  could  fairly  be  assumed 
that  nothing  more  was  to  be  found  in  the  books  regarding  it. 

"Then,  unlike  all  others,  a  man  sui  generis,  was  John 
Glenn,  whose  boundless  energy  and  resistless  will  and  un 
tiring  devotion  to  his  clients'  interests  placed  him  from  the 
beginning  preeminently  before  the  public,  and  whose 
practical  ability  secured  for  him  what  was  probably  the 
most  profitable  practice  at  the  Bar  in  Baltimore.  Too 
actively  engaged  in  all  branches  of  his  profession  to  prepare 
his  cases  with  the  diligence  that  characterized  others,  he 
supplied  the  want  of  it  with  quickness  that  seemed  like 
intuition.  At  the  tune  I  speak  of,  he  was  the  readiest  and, 
perhaps,  the  most  available  lawyer  at  the  Bar.  In  every 
particular  he  was  essentially  a  business  man,  and  as  such 
the  public  so  appreciated  him. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  207 

"Associated  with  Mr.  Glenn  in  many  of  his  greatest 
cases  was  Charles  Mitchell,  than  whom  there  was  perhaps 
no  better  lawyer.  But  he  was  not  true  to  himself,  and  while 
his  abilities  were  universally  acknowledged  they  never 
profited  him  as  they  should  have  done.  Rarely  endowed 
in  many  ways,  of  an  excellent  presence,  and  an  emphatic 
and  deliberate  speaker,  he  made  his  mark  whenever  he 
addressed  himself  to  the  argument  of  a  cause.  Those  who 
best  appreciated  him  were  his  brethren  of  the  Bar. 

"There  was  George  Richardson  of  a  date  following 
those  just  named;  one  of  the  closest  reasoners  in  the  pro 
fession.  Intensely  earnest  and  emphatic,  McMahon — 
whose  initials  it  is  unnecessary  to  give,  for  there  was  but  one 
McMahon — historian  of  Maryland  and  a  profound  and  able 
lawyer,  searching  in  investigation,  who  discussed  no  subject 
that  he  did  not  exhaust,  lucid  in  argument,  vehement  and 
eloquent,  there  can  be  no  question  that  as  an  orator  he  was 
primus  inter  pares  among  his  brethren. 

"William  Schley,  with  the  courtly  manner  of  the  old 
school  of  the  profession,  a  thorough  lawyer,  ingenious  and 
acute,  was  preeminent  among  the  lawyers  of  the  Bar. 

"John  Nelson,  than  whom  the  profession  contained  no 
abler  lawyer,  with  the  rarest  faculty  of  condensation,  saying 
everything  in  the  best  manner,  and  leaving  nothing  un 
said  that  was  germane  to  his  cause. 

"Graf ton  Dulany,  whose  name  cannot  be  omitted 
when  enumerating  the  worthy,  the  able  and  the  trusty. 

"William  Gwynn,  editor,  epigrammatist,  and  one  of  the 
most  reliable  of  counsellors  of  his  day,  the  contemporary  of 
Pinkney,  Taney,  Wirt  and  Winder,  surviving  all  of  them, 
one  of  the  kindest  and  most  benevolent  of  men,  loved  by 
all  who  knew  him,  and  fading  from  view  as  old  age  found 
him  left  behind  in  more  active  contests  than  those  which 


208  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

he  had  been  accustomed  to.  His  portrait  looks  down  from 
the  walls  of  the  Superior  Court  Room  upon  the  scene  in 
which  he  was  at  one  time  an  honored  actor. 

"The  last  in  this  enumeration  of  those  who  figured  in  the 
Bar  of  Baltimore  more  than  fifty  years  ago  is  one  who,  surviv 
ing  his  fellows,  almost  recently  passed  away — Reverdy  John 
son,  statesman,  diplomatist  and  lawyer.  Few  men  have  been 
more  preeminently  before  the  public  in  the  Senate  and  at 
the  Bar,  and  yet,  with  all  his  distinction,  natural  and  un 
affected  as  a  child.  Of  all  his  contemporaries,  not  one  is 
more  affectionately  remembered. 

"Not  long  after  my  first  marriage  the  Barnum  and  Gil- 
mor  divorce  case  created  a  great  excitement  in  Baltimore, 
and  I  was  engaged  as  junior  counsel  for  the  lady.  In  those 
days  the  legislature  alone  had  the  power  to  grant  divorces, 
and  the  station  in  life  of  one  of  the  parties  in  this  instance 
and  the  wealth  of  both  of  them  involved  apparently  the 
legislature  itself  in  the  excitement.  For  motives  that  I 
never  could  understand  the  gentleman  applied  for  the  di 
vorce  on  the  grounds  of  the  adultery  of  his  wife,  and  the 
application  was  resisted  with  all  the  vehemence  proper  to 
a  conviction  of  the  utter  falsity  of  the  charge.  Mr.  Taney 
and  Mr.  Jonathan  Meredith  were  my  seniors  and  the  lady 
was  our  client.  We  were  successful,  and  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  satisfy  my  associates;  and  the  divorce  case  gave 
me  a  further  lift  in  the  profession. 

"In  this  case  some  of  the  aspirations  which  led  me  to 
embrace  the  profession  of  the  law  were  realized  to  a  greater 
degree  than  they  have  ever  been  since.  The  lady  was 
handsome;  she  had  suffered  grievous  wrong;  more  than  one 
beautiful  woman  appeared  as  a  witness  and  there  was  a 
'concatenation'  of  circumstances  that  afforded  a  wide  field 
for  ingenious  discussion  on  both  sides.  It  was  deemed 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  209 

proper  by  my  colleagues  that  our  client  should  tell  her  own 
story,  and  I  was  to  obtain  it  from  her  lips  and  put  it  upon 
paper.  I  suppose  I  made  the  most  of  it,  and  when  I  read 
it  to  Mr.  Taney  and  Mr.  Meredith,  while  they  expressed 
themselves  satisfied  with  the  way  in  which  the  facts  were 
put  together,  Mr.  Taney  said,  "Are  you  quite  sure,  Brother 
Latrobe,  that  the  Committee  on  Divorces  will  not  suspect 
your  handiwork  as  they  listen  to  the  production?  Suppose 
now  that,  without  altering  an  idea  or  changing  the  position 
of  a  sentence,  you  try  how  simply  you  can  tell  the  story. 
The  facts,  you  know,  are  all  we  want,  and  these  in  the  fewest 
words."  Whereupon  I  went  over  my  manuscript,  and 
merely  by  leaving  out  superfluous  words  put  it  into  a  shape 
that  passed  muster  with  my  colleagues  without  further 
change.  But  I  had  a  wonderful  number  of  words  to  give 
the  go-by  to.  My  Falstaff  shrivelled  into  the  dimensions  of 
Prince  Hal.  I  mention  this  now  that  you  may  benefit  by  the 
rule  I  then  adopted  in  every  paper  of  importance  afterwards 
prepared.  I  wrote  it  with  the  rapidity  that  the  thought  of 
the  moment  called  for.  I  then  struck  out  every  word  that 
could  be  dispensed  with.  I  do  not  know  how  it  is  with 
others;  but  with  me,  when  I  plan  my  phrase  as  my  pen 
presses  the  paper,  thoughts  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  run 
ahead  of  me  and  escape,  or  if  caught  and  dragged  back 
are  in  my  experience  awkwardly  or  clumsily  expressed. 

The  divorce  case  gave  me  the  largest  fee  I  had  yet  re 
ceived.  I  had  a  retainer  of  $100,  and  was  to  have  had 
$1000  when  all  was  over.  I  only  received  $900,  however, 
the  retainer  being  deducted,  but  $900  was  a  young  fortune 
in  those  days,  and  I  was  too  well  pleased  to  get  it,  to  dis 
pute  the  propriety  of  the  subtraction. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  enclosing  the  fee  re 
ferred  to. 


210  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"Baltimore  8  March   1830. 
Dear  Sir: 

"At  the  request  of  my  niece  Mrs.  Sarah  Gilmor  and  the 
directions  of  her  trustees  (Mrs.  Wm.  Gilmor  and  Mr.  B.  C. 
Howard),  I  send  you  enclosed  a  check  for  800  D.  de 
signed  to  compensate  you  in  some  degree  for  professional 
services  on  the  late  occasion  at  Annapolis. 

"But  there  still  remains  a  debt  due  from  her  and  all  the 
members  of  our  family  for  the  friendly  interest  you  took  in 
her  case,  and  the  zeal  and  exertion  used  to  vindicate  her 
fair  fame,  and  release  her  from  the  unhappy  thraldom  in 
which  she  was  bound,  which  we  can  never  sufficiently  re 
pay,  but  which  we  must  gratefully  acknowledge,  and  no 
one  more  so  than, 

My  dear  Sir, 

Yours  very  truly, 

ROBERT  GILMOR."* 

Among  the  cases  of  domestic  infelicity,  I  think  the  follow 
ing,  perhaps,  is  the  most  acute  that  ever  came  to  my  knowl 
edge.  As  the  case  passed  from  Mr.  Latrobe's  to  my 
office,  I  here  insert  it. 

As  a  young  lawyer,  anxious  for  business,  I  sat  at  my 
office  desk.  A  woman  of  a  not  very  attractive  counte 
nance  entered  my  door,  and  announced  the  object  of  her 
visit,  stating  that  she  had  called  upon  Mr.  Latrobe  and  had 
been  referred  to  me. 

She  lived  on  Davis  Street,  a  short  street  parallel  with 
Calvert  Street,  entering  Lexington  Street,  nearly  opposite 
the  Post  Office.  The  legend  is  that  this  part  of  Baltimore 
was  in  olden  times  called  "The  Meadows,"  and  a  Mrs. 

*  In  Maryland  the  right  to  grant  divorces  was  exclusively  with  General  As 
sembly  until  1841  when  the  Equity  Courts  had  concurrent  jurisdiction.  The 
constitution  of  1851  divested  the  Legislature  of  the  power  to  grant  divorces. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  211 

Davis,  a  woman  of  questionable  repute,  had  an  establish 
ment,  corresponding  with  her  character,  in  this  locality. 
In  honor  of  her  Davis  Street  received  its  name  and,  as  far 
as  I  could  ascertain,  her  reputation. 

At  least,  Mrs.  Davis  (for  so  I  shall  name  her)  was  a  very 
worthy  resident  of  such  a  locality.  She  told  me  that  her 
husband  had  brought  a  suit  against  her  for  divorce;  that 
she  would  be  glad  to  be  shut  of  him,  but  that  she  had  a 
daughter,  and  she  understood  that  if  she  made  no  defense 
the  daughter  might  be  taken  from  her. 

I  told  her  that  this  was  possible.  She  then  said  she  wished 
to  have  the  suit  resisted.  I  asked  her  whether  she  was 
guilty  of  the  offenses  charged.  She  said  she  was,  but  that 
her  husband  was  equally  bad.  I  then  asked  her  where  her 
husband  was  living,  and  she  said  with  her  at  the  Davis 
Street  house,  where  they  had  a  saloon.  I  then  explained 
that  her  husband  continuing  to  live  with  her  condoned  or 
forgave  the  offense,  and  that  I  would  file  affidavits,  and 
have  the  case  dismissed.  This  I  did,  and  the  Court  directed 
the  husband  to  pay  me  a  fee  of  $75.00  which  he  did  not,  and 
I  had  naught  for  my  work  and  pigeon-holed  the  case  among 
the  cases  where  the  compensation  was  nil. 

Some  months  afterwards  Mrs.  Davis  reappeared  in  my 
office  and  explained  the  purport  of  her  visit  to  be  that  she 
wished  advice.  During  her  absence  her  husband  would 
take  her  clothes  out  of  the  bureau  or  wardrobe  and  tear 
them  into  shreds,  and  pile  them  in  that  condition  in  the 
centre  of  the  floor.  She  would  be  washing  her  face,  and  he 
would  seize  the  basin,  and  in  other  ways  make  himself 
"pleasant."  She  was  physically  his  superior,  and  goaded 
to  desperation  would  attack  him.  The  result  would  be  that 
she  would  be  arrested  and  locked  up  for  assault. 

I  told  her  that  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  treat  him 


212  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

in  the  same  way,  until  he  would  resist  it  and  strike  her, 
and  then  to  issue  a  warrant  and  have  him  arrested,  and  to 
take  advantage  of  his  absence  to  leave  the  place,  taking 
her  daughter  and  belongings  with  her. 

I  heard  nothing  of  her  for  six  months,  when  she  again 
visited  me.  She  said  she  had  done  what  I  told  her,  but  had 
not  left  the  place  when  he  was  locked  up,  and  that  he  had 
behaved  so  much  better  for  sometime,  that  she  thought  it 
would  be  alright;  but  that  he  was  now  resuming  his  old 
practices,  and  she  wanted  to  know  what  she  could  do. 

Then  I  told  her  I  thought  of  issuing  a  writ  to  seize  her 
husband's  property  in  the  saloon  to  pay  my  fee  of  $75  which 
he  had  been  directed  to  pay  by  the  Court,  but  had  not  paid, 
and  I  would  write  her  a  letter  to  that  effect,  and  perhaps  if 
he  knew  of  it,  he  might  leave.  I  wrote  her  a  letter,  and  a 
few  days  afterwards  she  came  in  delighted.  She  explained 
that  she  received  the  letter  and  put  it  in  the  bosom  of  her 
dress,  taking  care  to  have  a  portion  of  the  letter  exposed. 
Her  husband,  when  she  was  behind  the  bar,  asked  what  that 
was,  and  demanded  that  she  give  it  up.  She  declined,  and 
there  was  a  struggle;  but  he  got  the  letter.  He  then  ordered 
two  furniture  wagons,  took  most  of  the  furniture  and  depart 
ed.  I  congratulated  her  upon  the  success  of  our  efforts,  and 
considered  the  case  finally  closed. 

Not  so;  for  about  three  or  four  weeks  afterwards  Mrs. 
Davis  called,  and  wanted  to  know  if  in  the  event  of  her 
husband's  death  she  would  be  entitled  to  his  body.  I  told 
her  that  the  question  of  property  in  a  dead  human  body 
had  been  one  of  much  discussion.  I  recollected  reading  in 
one  of  Lever's  novels  that  the  coffin  containing  the  body 
of  a  supposed  debtor  was  seized  and  found  to  be  loaded 
with  stones;  but  I  confessed  to  her  that  I  was  not  prepared 
to  answer  this  question.  I  said,  however,  "I  cannot  under- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  213 

stand  why  you  should  be  concerned  about  your  husband's 
body.  You  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  in  getting  rid  of 
him  when  he  was  alive.  Why  should  you  want  him  after 
he  is  dead?" 

She  then  explained  that  he  was  living  with  his  sister, 
and  supposed  to  be  dying;  that  he  had  been  living  with  one 
lurtg  for  many  years,  and  was  extremely  thin;  that  she  was 
informed  that  the  doctors  placed  a  particular  value  upon 
the  cadaver  of  an  emaciated  person,  and  that  she  under 
stood  she  could  probably  sell  the  body  for  $100. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  I  took  no  further  interest 
in  this  case. 

To  continue  Mr.  Latrobe's  diary: 

"I  have  spoken  of  my  first  jury  case.  My  first  case 
before  the  Court  of  Appeals  I  shall  never  forget.  Mr. 
Charles  F.  Mayer  gave  me  the  opportunity.  Mr.  Meredith 
opened  the  argument  for  the  appellant  and  like  a  goose  I 
attempted  to  follow  in  his  track.  I  had  not  spoken  half 
an  hour  before  I  began  to  wish  myself  back  in  Baltimore. 
Big  drops  rolled  down  my  forehead  (it  was  July  2,  1827). 
The  five  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  became  fifteen, 
and  I  was  on  the  point  of  taking  my  seat  in  utter  confusion, 
when  that  most  estimable  gentleman  and  able  lawyer, 
Chief  Justice  John  Buchanan,  took  pity  on  me,  and  in 
terrupting  some  incoherent  nonsense,  said  the  Court  would 
take  its  usual  recess,  after  which  they  would  be  happy  to 
hear  the  remainder  of  my  argument.  Mr.  Meredith  came  up 
to  me  at  once,  and  gave  me  good  counsel.  'Speak  from  your 
brief,  man,  never  mind  me;  you  will  hit  me  as  you  go  along, 
and  do  not  make  a  ninny  of  yourself  by  attempting  to  track 
me  step  by  step.'  I  followed  the  advice  and  got  through 
without  disgracing  myself.  I  do  not  know  that  I  am  dis- 


214  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

posed  to  be  much  of  a  laudator  temporis  acti,  but  when  I 
look  back  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  the  day  I  refer  to,  it 
seems  to  me  that  we  have  not  improved  by  the  changes 
which  made  the  people  the  electors  of  the  judges. 

"I  have  a  record  of  all  my  fees.  'Richard  Caton,  a 
deed,  $5.00,'  is  at  the  head  of  the  list.  The  deed  was  for 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  It  was  drawn  and  paid  for 
while  I  was  yet  a  student.  And  this  reminds  me  of  all  I 
owe  to  the  Carroll  family;  and  no  memoranda  of  my  life 
would  be  complete  that  omitted  a  mention  of  them. 

"The  family  consisted  in  1832  of  the  following: 

Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  born  in  1737  at  Annapolis, 
son  of  Charles  Carroll  who  was  a  son  of  David  Carroll  of 
King's  County,  Ireland,  educated  by  the  Jesuits  at  St. 
Omer,  sent  to  Rheims  then  to  Bruges  to  study  law,  and 
in  1757  took  apartments  in  the  Temple  to  complete  his  study 
of  law.  In  1764  he  returned  to  Annapolis,  and  married 
Miss  May  Darnell  in  1768.  In  December  1776  he  was 
elected  to  the  Senate  of  Maryland;  in  1788  to  Senate  of 
United  States.  In  1807  he  retired  from  politics. 

"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richard  Caton,  the  latter  being  Mr. 
Carroll's  eldest  daughter,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  MacTavish, 
Mrs.  MacTavish  being  Mrs.  Caton's  youngest  daughter, 
lived  in  Second  Street  "just  beyond  the  bridge,"  as  the 
phrase  ran. 

"Mrs  General  Harper,  Mr.  Carroll's  second  daughter, 
lived  in  Gay  Street,  as  already  said,  opposite  the  Exchange. 
Mr.  Charles  Carroll  of  "Homewood,"  heretofore  described, 
resided  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Harper,  during  the  winter. 

"The  intimacy  of  my  father  and  mother  in  years  past 
with  the  Carroll  family,  and  my  almost  domestication  in 
General  Harper's  family,  placed  me  on  the  footing  of  a 
relative,  rather  than  a  stranger  in  both  families. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  215 

"When  I  first  saw  Mr.  Carroll,  he  was  in  his  eighty-sixth 
year.  He  lived  ten  years  longer.  Below  the  middle  size, 
weak  and  emaciated,  his  voice  thin  and  feeble,  writing  with 
a  trembling  hand,  but  always  signing  his  name  "Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,"  you  saw  in  him,  as  he  approached 
to  greet  you,  a  very  feeble  and  aged  man.  His  hair  was 
scant  and  white  and  silky,  and  his  eyes  especially  were 
suggestive  of  great  age.  His  complexion,  however,  was 
healthy,  and  tremulous  as  were  his  movements,  they  were 
quick.  His  hearing  was  but  little  affected  by  his  years 
and  he  listened  with  apparent  eagerness  to  all  that  was 
said  in  his  presence.  His  dress  was  the  knee  breeches  of  the 
old  school,  when  I  first  recollect  him,  his  waistcoat  as  long 
as  we  see  in  oldtime  pictures,  and  I  never  saw  him  except 
in  a  loose  roquelaure,  something  between  a  dressing  gown 
and  a  frock  coat.  His  manners  were  charming,  his  counte 
nance  pleasant  and  sprightly,  and  as  one  looked  at  Mr. 
Carroll,  one  saw  a  shadow  from  past  days,  when  manner 
was  cultivated  as  essential  to  a  gentleman. 

"Without  being  close  in  his  dealings — indeed,  he  was 
otherwise — Mr.  Carroll  was  painfully  accurate.  On  one 
occasion,  when  he  settled  some  costs  with  me,  he  sent  out 
of  the  house  for  change  rather  than  overpay  the  bill  by  a 
few  cents.  He  paid  me  my  first  $20  fee  in  a  check,  which 
forty  years  afterwards  was  given  to  me  by  a  gentleman  who- 
had  obtained  it,  somehow  or  other,  with  the  Bank's  can 
cellation,  and  who  thought  I  might  wish  to  preserve  it  as. 
an  autograph.  This  is  especially  what  I  desired,  but,  un 
fortunately,  my  pocket  was  picked  while  I  was  registering 
my  name  at  Willard's,  and  the  autograph  went  with  the 
cash. 

"Mr.  Richard  Caton  was  a  tall,  and  when  young,  must 
have  been  an  extremely  handsome  man,  of  graceful  and 


216  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

refined  manner  and  good  conversational  powers.*  His 
wife,  when  I  first  knew  her,  was  extremely  plain,  both  in 
person  and  face,  but  of  all  the  women  I  have  ever  met,  she 
was  the  most  charming.  Her  enunciation,  her  manners, 
her  extraordinary  tact,  made  you  forget  altogether  that  she 
was  not  as  handsome  as  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Patterson. 
She  became  blind  many  years  before  her  death;  but,  to 
the  very  last,  retained  her  wondrous  charm  of  manner. 
Mrs.  Royal  thus  describes  Mrs.  Caton : 

Blackbook  published  in  1828,  Madam  Ann  Royall. 

Mrs.    ,   daughter    of    the    venerable    Carroll   of 

Carrollton,  is  one  of  the  most  accomplished  persons, 
perhaps,  in  the  world.  I  do  not  say  this  because  she  pat 
ronized  me,  as  it  has  been  meanly  remarked  very  often, 
for  she  did  not,  but  this  does  not  prevent  me  from  paying 
her  those  encomiums  she  so  richly  deserves.  She  is  well 
known  to  have  a  daughter  as  accomplished  as  herself, 
married  to  one  of  the  first  noblemen  in  England,  the  Marquis 

of  Wellesley,   but  Mrs. ,   though  a  lady  of  very 

young  appearance,  is  one  of  the  old  school.  Baltimore 
will  never  produce  such  another  female,  though  I  suspect 
it  has  not  the  honor  of  her  birth.  She  appears  to  be  about 
sixty-five  years  of  age;  rather  lusty,  taller  than  the  ordinary 
height,  round  face  and  very  handsomely  featured,  but  her 
manners  were  the  most  fascinating  of  any  person  I  had 
ever  known.  Sweetness  and  grace  mark  her  every  word 
and  gesture. 

"But  the  queenliest  woman  of  her  day  was  Mrs.  Robert 
Patterson,  afterwards  Marchioness  of  Wellesley.  Tall, 
lithe  and  extremely  graceful,  her  figure  was  perfect  and  her 
face  one  of  the  handsomest  I  have  ever  seen,  even  after 

*  Richard  Caton,  a  young  Englishman,  came  to  Baltimore  in  1785.    He  married 
Mary  Carroll  in  1786. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  217 

she  had  passed  her  first  youth.  A  dark  brunette,  with 
large  and  wondrous  eyes  of  deep  hazel,  with  hair  that 
corresponded,  every  feature  regular,  and  a  mouth,  the 
sweetness  of  whose  expression  was  unequalled,  with  teeth 
faultless  in  form  and  color,  and,  with  her  head  set  on  her 
sloping  shoulders,  as  head  was  never  set  before,  Mrs.  Robert 
Patterson's  beauty  was  a  thing  not  to  be  forgotten.  I 
owe  her  much,  for  it  pleased  her  to  advise  me  in  regard  to 
many  things  not  learned  at  West  Point  connected  with  the 
ways  of  the  world  and  the  fashions  of  social  life.  She  was 
a  devout  Catholic,  too,  and  I  sometimes  thought  that  when 
she  dilated  on  the  characteristics  and  value  of  her  church, 
I  was  in  far  greater  danger  of  being  converted  by  the  privi 
lege  of  listening  to  her  than  by  the  matter  to  which  I  listened. 
I  was  a  boy  of  nineteen  and  Mrs.  Patterson  a  woman  of 
forty.  I  remember  being  seated  alongside  of  Charles 
Harper  at  a  dinner  given  to  Sir  Charles  Bagot,  the  British 
Minister,  at  Mr.  Caton's,  and  we  both  agreed  that  Mrs. 
Patterson,  blazing  with  diamonds  in  all  the  magnificence 
of  full  dress,  was  the  impersonation  of  all  earthly  beauty. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Patterson,  she  went  to  England  on 
a  visit  to  her  sister,  Lady  Harvey,  afterwards  Duchess  of 
Leeds,  and  became  the  Marchioness  of  Wellesley,  and  for 
a  season  presided  over  the  Vice-Regal  Court  in  Dublin.  It 
was  to  her  that  an  English  Bishop  alluded  when  he  toasted: 
'  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  In  the  land  from  which 
his  father's  father  fled  in  fear,  his  daughter's  daughter  now 
reigns  as  queen.' 

"Grace  and  elegance  of  manner  distinguished  all  Mr. 
Carroll's  children  and  grandchildren. 

"I  have  lived  to  know  five  generations  of  this  family: 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  Charles  Carroll  of  Home- 
wood,  Charles  Carroll  of  the  Manor,  my  fellow  student  in 


218  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

General  Harper's  office,  John  Carroll  of  the  Manor,  his 
son,  who  married  Miss  Phelps,  and  their  children. 

"I  dwell  upon  my  acquaintance  with  this  very  queenly 
lady,  for  it  had  a  refining  influence  upon  a  young  life,  whose 
antecedents  had  wanted  (for  three  or  four  years  of  the  most 
impressible  period  of  existence)  just  such  an  influence  as 
was  then  exercised  upon  me.  My  father  was  a  man  whose 
deference  to  women  was  a  part  of  his  nature;  so  that  some 
of  my  feeling  for  the  sex  came  by  inheritance.  I  had  been 
fascinated,  as  a  lad,  by  Maturins'  Lady  Montriver,  in 
'The  Wild  Irish  Boy/  and  by  Miss  Edgeworth's  Lady 
Delacour.  Mrs.  Patterson,  the  Marchioness  of  Wellesley, 
illustrated  the  best  qualities  of  them  both,  and  I  hold  her 
memory  in  reverence  at  the  end  of  half  a  century. " 

We  find  in  the  Creevy  papers  the  following  in  reference 
to  the  visit  of  Miss  Caton  to  her  sister  in  England.  In 
speaking  of  a  party  given  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  he 
says: 

"Our  conversation  was  interrupted  by  Mrs.  Harvey  and 
Miss  Caton  coming  up  to  the  Duke,  with  a  Yankee  General 
on  their  hands  (a  relative  of  theirs).  He  had  married  one 
of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton's  daughters;  just  arrived 
from  America,  General  Goodloe  Harper,  whom  they  pre 
sented  to  the  Duke.  It  is  not  amiss  to  say  these  sisters,  Mrs . 
Harvey  and  Miss  Caton,  were  not  content  with  passing 
themselves  off  as  tip  top  Yankees,  but  played  much  greater 
people  than  Lady  C.  Greville  and  Lady  F.  Cole  to  me  who 
remember  their  grandfather,  old  Caton,  a  Captain  of  an 
Indiaman  in  Liverpool,  their  father  an  adventurer  to 
America,  and  know  their  two  aunts,  one  in  Woodville,  and 
another  in  Liverpool,  who  moved  in  about  the  third  rate 
society  at  that  time." 

Later,  when  one  of  these  ladies  had  become  Lady  Welles- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  219 

ley  (in  the  second  volume,  page  590),  he  speaks  of  her 
being  introduced  to  King  William.  Someone  asked,  "Lady 
Wellesley,  do  you  come  from  that  part  of  America,  where 
they  'guess'  and  where  they  'calculate'?"  King  William 
answered,  "Lady  Wellesley  comes  from  where  they 
'fascinate." 

Creevy  was  a  good  deal  of  a  gossip,  and  it  is  well  to  know 
how  his  views  changed,  after  one  of  the  Misses  Caton 
became  Lady  Wellesley. 

The  following  is  from  the  Baltimore  Sun,  November 
26,  1905: 

"Mary  Caton,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Richard  and  Mary 
(Carroll)  Caton,  married,  first,  Robert  Patterson,  brother 
of  Mme.  Jerome  Bonaparte,  and  second,  the  Marquis  of 
Wellesley,  Governor-General  of  India  and  Lord-Lieutenant 
of  Ireland.  Mary  Caton,  Marchioness  of  Wellesley,  thus 
held  many  years  ago  the  honors  as  first  lady  of  India.  She 
was  also  appointed  first  lady-in-waiting  to  Queen  Adelaide, 
who  with  William  IV  ascended  the  British  Throne  in  1830. 
The  kindly  grandfather,  Charles  Carroll,  sent  his  beautiful 
granddaughter  a  gift  of  $10,000  when  she  assumed  these 
court  honors,  and  the  bejeweled  robe  and  gold  crown  worn 
by  her  as  Lady-Lieutenant  of  Ireland  were  bequeathed  to 
her  sister,  Emily  Caton  Mactavish,  of  Baltimore,  and  the 
crown  is  said  to  have  been  committed  to  the  keeping  of  one 
of  the  Jesuit  churches  of  Maryland.  The  Marchioness  of 
Wellesley  died  at  Hampton  Court,  near  Richmond,  on  the 
Thames,  in  1853." 

Elizabeth  Caton,  second  daughter  of  Richard  and  Mary 
(Carroll)  Caton,  married  in  1836  Baron  Stafford,  of  Costessy 
Hall,  near  Norwich,  and  became  Lady  Stafford. 

Louisa  Catherine  Caton,  third  daughter  of  Richard  and 
Mary  (Carroll)  Caton,  married  Colonel  Sir  Bathurst 


220  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Harvey,  Aide  de  camp  to  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince 
Regent.  The  wedding  was  solemnized  at  the  home  of  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Wellington,  and  that  illustrious 
soldier  gave  the  bride  in  marriage.  After  the  death  of  her 
first  husband  Louisa  Catherine  Caton  married  the  Marquis 
of  Carmarthen,  later  Duke  of  Leeds. 

Emily  Caton,  fourth  and  youngest  daughter  of  Richard 
and  Mary  (Carroll)  Caton,  remained  with  her  grandfather, 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  whose  favorite  granddaughter 
she  was.  She  married  John  Lovet  MacTavish,  of  Scotland. 
Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  gave  his  granddaughter  part 
of  Doughoregan  Manor  as  a  wedding  present,  which  was 
afterwards  called  "Folly  Hall,"  from  an  estate  owned  by 
the  MacTavish  family  in  Scotland.  She  was  the  only 
one  of  Richard  Caton's  daughters  who  had  children.  Her 
son,  Charles  Carroll  MacTavish  married  Marcella  Scott, 
daughter  of  General  Winfield  Scott,  and  their  living  children 
are:  Maris  Mayo  MacTavish,  who  is  a  nun  in  Belgium; 
Emily  MacTavish,  who  is  also  a  nun  in  the  Convent  of 
Mount  de  Sales,  near  Catonsville;  Charles  Carroll  Mac 
Tavish,  who  lives  abroad;  and  Miss  Virginia  MacTavish,  who 
also  resides  abroad.  The  Catonsville  estate  was  divided  in 
1857  among  the  Marchioness  of  Wellesley,  Lady  Stafford's 
estate,  the  Duchess  of  Leeds  and  Emily  Caton  MacTavish. 

Before  closing  this  chapter,  I  shall  add  a  description  of  a 
Fancy  Ball  in  Baltimore  in  1829  at  which  Mr.  Latrobe 
figured  as  Don  Quixote. 

A   FANCY    BALL   IN   BALTIMORE    1829 

An  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Julia  Latrobe  to  her 
brother  Benjamin  dated  February  27,  1829: — 

"Last  night  was  the  eventful  night  of  the  Fancy  Ball, 
and  as  I  have  nothing  better  to  amuse  you  with,  I  will 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  221 

e'en  relate  some  of  the  features  of  this  important  affair. 
John  wrote  to  you  that  he  was  going  as  Don  Quixote,  and 
never  since  the  days  of  Cervantes  did  a  better  representative 
of  the  knight  of  the  Rueful  Countenance  appear.  His 
armor  was  perfect  in  all  its  parts,  and  looked  like  polished 
silver,  and  he  made  himself  the  express  image  of  the  man 
in  the  tin  clothes.  A  copper  basin  of  pasteboard  covered 
his  head.  He  wore  a  long  nose,,  moustachioes  and  beard 
(pulled  from  the  buffalo  hide  Frisbie  had  slept  on) ;  and  a 
shield  and  spear  completed  the  costume.  He  had  his 
wedding  pants  altered  tight  to  his  shape  and  wore  them 
under  his  armor. 

"But  Sancho — I  despair  of  conveying  an  idea  of  his  ex 
cellence,  he  looked  the  character  so  well.  He  wore  pink 
stockinettes  to  about  half  way  up  his  legs,  when  he  had  short 
velvet  breeches  slashed  with  pink,  an  olive  doublet,  slashed 
sleeves,  pointed  collar  and  cuffs,  basket  hilted  sword,  flat 
velvet  cap,  and  a  wallet.  In  this  style,  he  was  only  a  little 
squat  fellow.  He  came  here  before  the  Ball  and  rehearsed. 
I  said  'What  have  you  in  your  wallet?'  'A  slice  of  cheese, 
an  onion,  and  a  bottle  of  Fiery  Brass,'  he  replied,  producing 
a  phial  from  which  he  occasionally  dabbed  his  beard  to 
make  it  stick.  Had  you  seen  the  pair  you  would  have 
almost  expired  with  laughter.  And  then,  to  see  John  go  up 
stairs — it  would  have  made  a  tiger  titter.  It  was  decided 
that  his  was  the  best  costume  in  the  room.  He  supported 
it  admirably  and  never  smiled.  Sancho  assisted  him,  and 
said  'your  worship,  &c.  &c.,'  and  repeated  proverbs  by  the 
dozen.  About  twelve  o'clock  John  changed  his  dress  to 
that  of  Quentin  Durward,  leaving  the  armor  on  the  arms 
and  legs,  and  putting  on  a  blue  frock  trimmed  with  silver 
fringe,  a  white  satin  cross  on  the  breast  and  silver  cord  and 
tassels,  &c.,  from  his  uniform;  a  Scotch  cap  with  two  white 


222  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

plumes  of  mine,  a  brilliant  ornament  and  a  lace  ruff,  made, 
altogether,  a  brilliant  dress.  Barney  (Sancho)  changed  also 
to  the  most  inimitable  Chippewa  you  ever  saw.  Now 
for  Margaret.  She  was  dressed  as  a  Peruvian  Princess, 
and  looked  splendid.  She  wore  over  satin  a  gold  lama 
dress,  embroidered  to  the  knees  and  then  striped  up  with 
bands  of  gold  to  the  waist.  These  bands  at  the  knees 
were  finished  by  scarlet  roses  of  gauze.  A  scarlet  satin 
bodice,  richly  spangled  gauze  sleeves  and  bracelets  of  coral 
and  gold  alternately  to  the  elbow,  and  a  profusion  of  coral 
chains  hanging  from  the  throat  to  the  waist.  A  coronet  of 
gold  with  fifteen  scarlet  and  white  feathers  and  a  gauze 
veil  richly  spangled  and  trimmed  with  gold  fringe  fell  from 
the  back  of  the  head.  Sandals,  laced  with  scarlet  ribbons, 
spangled.  (Here  there  is  a  marginal  sketch.)  This  will 
give  you  some  idea  of  it.  This  dress  was  thought  very 
elegant  and  was  really  very  rich;  and  the  best  of  it  was  that 
she  had  almost  all  the  materials,  and  borrowed  from  her 
sisters  the  rest  and  wore  my  coral.  M.  chaperoned  Alison 
who  looked  very  lovely  as  a  Scotch  girl.  Charles  Harper 
went  as  Selim  in  a  Turkish  dress;  his  wife  as  a  Polish  lady. 
Tom  Oliver  was  a  Janizary,  his  wife  Margaret  of  Navarre. 
R.  B.  Magruder  as  Prior  Aymer,  Cruse  and  Kennedy  as 
palmers  from  the  Holy  Land — admirable,  it  is  said.  Gibbes 
as  a  courtier  at  the  last  Coronation — magnificent.  Frick, 
(who  with  John  were  the  two  best)  as  a  Dutch  Burgomaster. 
Olivia  Donaldson  as  Rosina.  Madame  Vallenilla  as  a 
Turkish  lady;  Mrs.  Skinner,  ditto.  Skinner,  a  Spanish 
nobleman.  Lawyer  Finley  and  Tom  Meredith  as  Kentucky 
hunters — horrid,  &c.  &c.  &c.  At  10  o'clock  a  rattle  was 
sprung  and  George  Howard  came  in  as  a  watchman.  Tom 
Adair  and  young  Etting  as  ballad  singers  scraping  an  old 
fiddle  and  singing, — very  funny;  and  one  man  as  the  Amer- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  223 

ican  flag;  no  one  yet  knows  who  he  was.  Of  course 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  fun  from  people  choosing  unsuitable 
characters;  and  there  were  some  droll  mistakes,  &c.,  &c. 
John  had  to  keep  poking  up  his  nose,  to  keep  it  on,  and, 
under  pretence  of  taking  some  balsam,  apply  the  gum  to 
his  moustache.  Charles  Harper  came  up  to  Margaret  with 
his  moustachio  on  his  cheek,  having  waltzed  it  nearly  off; 
for  waltzing  is  all  the  go  now.  Do  you  remember  Salma 
gundi's  account  of  the  waltz?  But,  indeed,  my  dear  Ben, 
people  are  growing  more  and  more  used  to  all  sorts  of  things, 
and  all  sorts  of  sights.  The  Vestris  is  here  with  her  husband 
and  Mademoiselle  Rosalie,  and  John  and  M.  went  to  see 
them  at  the  theatre.  Imagine  it,  they  had  nothing  but 
flesh  colored  inexpressibles,  and  a  gauze  petticoat  reaching 
to  the  knee  with  nothing  under  it;  and  as  they  spun  around 
on  one  leg,  in  this  way  (a  marginal  sketch),  what  became  of 
the  petticoat?  I  am  so  glad  that  I  did  not  go,  I  could 
spin  around  on  one  leg  for  very  joy. " 

"Baltimore,  February  27th,  1886. 

"Of  all  this  merry  company,  Madame  Vallenilla  Alison 
(now  Mrs.  S.  Lawrence)  and  myself  are,  today,  the  only 
ones  alive,  I  believe.  The  writer  of  the  letter,  my  very 
dear  sister,  as  bright  as  ever,  but  on  earth  there  is  not  now 
our  dear  brother  Ben. 

NOTES 

"My  armor  was  made  of  pasteboard  by  myself  after 
drawings;  was  covered  with  tinfoil,  and  was  rather  clever, 
and,  in  those  days  of  comparative  simplicity,  was  wonder 
fully  admired. 

"Sancho  was  Lieutenant  Joshua  Barney,  my  school 
fellow  at  West  Point;  a  man  of  talent  and  humor,  with  a 


224  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

strong  perception  of  the  ludicrous.  I  was  his  c6unsel  before 
a  court-martial  at  Fort  McHenry  growing  out  of  a  difficulty 
with  Colonel  Belton  in  which,  if  I  remember,  he  was  success 
ful.  He  afterwards  left  the  army  and  became  a  civil 
engineer. 

"'Alison'  was  Miss  Alison  Turnbull,  now  Mrs.  Samuel 
Lawrence  of  Massachusetts,  then  one  of  the  very  hand 
somest  women  I  ever  knew. 

"Charles  Harper,  the  son  of  General  R.  G.  Harper, 
with  whom  I  studied  law,  my  most  intimate  friend,  a  noble, 
chivalrous,  talented  and  refined  gentleman,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  Legislature,  and,  later,  Secretary  of  Legation 
under  Mr.  Rives,  the  American  Minister  to  France.  The 
mention  of  his  name  revives  recollections  that  would  fill 
a  volume.  He  died  long  since  at  Paris. 

"Tom  Oliver,  a  schoolfellow  at  St.  Mary's  College,  in 
after  life  a  client.  He  was  the  son  of  Robert  Oliver,  a 
merchant  prince  of  Baltimore.  He  married  the  daughter  of 
Hall  Harrison.  She  was  the  sister  of  W.  G.  Harrison, 
one  of  the  most  estimable  of  my  old  friends,  respected  and 
beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was,  at  one  time,  presi 
dent  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Road. 

"R.  B.  Magruder,  a  prominent  lawyer,  afterwards  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  old  County  Court,  a  kindly  hearted 
gentleman,  of  a  very  full  face,  'making  up'  admirably  as 
Prior  Aymer." 

"  Cruse  and  Kennedy,  lawyers  both,  addicted  to  literature 
rather  than  to  law.  While  Cruse  had  talent  as  a  writer, 
as  witness  his  contributions  to  the  Baltimore  American,  of 
which  he  was  the  editor,  Kennedy  had  genius,  as  witness 
"Swallow  Barn,"  "Rob  of  the  Bowl,"  and  his  other  imagina 
tive  works.  Cruse  began  and  ended  with  Literature. 
Kennedy  made  himself  prominent  in  the  political  world,  was 
a  member  of  the  Legislature,  was  sent  to  Congress  from 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  225 

Baltimore,  and  became  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  illustrating 
his  ability  in  every  position;  and  his  "Annals  of  Quodlibet" 
was  one  of  the  best  political  productions  of  the  day.  But 
he  was  not  as  sturdy  and  finished  a  writer  as  Cruse.  They 
were  the  Damon  and  Pythias  of  society  in  Baltimore. 
Cruse  died  of  the  cholera  in  1832.  Kennedy  died  only 
a  few  years  since.  Both  had  humor;  but  while  Cruse  was 
full  of  it,  Kennedy  was  overflowing.  I  knew  both  well, 
and  while  they  lived,  they  were  my  associates  and  friends. 

"Gibbes,  R.  M.,  was  one  of  the  handsomest,  most  re 
fined  and  elegant  gentlemen  that  we  had  in  Baltimore; 
a  South  Carolinian,  with  all  the  manners  of  the  old  school. 
He  married  the  daughter  of  Robert  Oliver.  He  was  another 
of  my  friends. 

"Frick,  William,  was  one  of  the  brightest  and  most 
humorous  men  at  the  Bar,  who,  without  being  a  very 
learned  lawyer,  made,  long  after  the  Fancy  Ball,  an  ex 
cellent  Judge.  Few  men  were  ever  more  popular,  and  as  a 
brilliant  conversationalist  he  was  unequalled.  Among  other 
accomplishments,  the  Judge  was  an  admirable  musician, 
not  only  instrumentally,  but  as  a  composer;  and  more  than 
once  he  set  to  music  verses  that  I  had  written  or  which  I 
wrote  for  the  occasion.  One  of  these,  I  remember,  was 
"My  barque  is  upon  the  deep,  love,"  and  another  "0,  lady, 
if  I  were  the  knight  of  old. "  Our  offices  adjoined,  and  we 
saw  a  great  deal  of  each  other  while  he  lived.  Some  of 
his  humorous  anecdotes  are  traditional.  Everybody  liked 
Judge  Frick. 

"Olivia  Donaldson  was  one  of  the  handsomest  women  in 

City  where  beauty  is  not  rare.  She  married  Grafton 
Dulany,  an  able  and  very  distinguished  member  of  our  Bar,  as 
handsome  almost  as  a  man  as  his  wife  was  as  a  woman,  and 
their  children  still  perpetuate  the  beauty  of  their  parents. 
Madame  Vallenilla  is  Mrs.  Dulany's  sister. 


226  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Skinner.  Mr.  John  S.  Skinner  was  the 
postmaster,  a  person  of  wide  and  general  information  and 
a  prominent  politician  in  his  day;  a  clever  writer,  the  editor 
of  the  American  Farmer,  and  at  home  in  all  agricultural 
matters.  His  paper  gave  him  a  wide  influence  in  Maryland. 
His  wife  was  an  amiable  and  hospitable  lady. 

"Lawyer  Finley  and  Tom  Meredith  were  two  members 
of  the  Baltimore  Bar. 

"George  Howard  was  a  son  of  Col.  John  Eager  Howard 
of  revolutionary  fame.  Howard  was,  at  a  later  day,  Gov 
ernor  of  Maryland.  He  was  one  of  six  brothers,  John, 
George,  Ben,  James,  William  and  Charles,  all  of  whom  I 
knew,  and  with  three  of  whom,  Ben,  Charles  and  William, 
I  was  intimate.  I  was  William's  groomsman,  and  Charles 
was  a  very  dear  friend.  Colonel  Howard's  only  daughter, 
Sophia,  married  my  fellow-student  in  General  Harper's 
law  office,  William  George  Read,  and  both  husband  and  wife 
were  my  very  dear  friends.  All  are  now  dead.  The  widows 
of  Ben,  William  and  Charles  are  still  living.  William's 
widow  is  now  Mrs.  Rebecca  Tyson.  I  was  groomsman  at 
her  first  marriage.  The  widow  of  Charles  is  the  daughter 
of  Francis  S.  Key,  of  Star  Spangled  Banner  renown. 

"Tom  Adair  and  young  Etting  are  the  last  persons 
named  in  my  sister's  letter.  Adair  was  a  young  merchant, 
the  brother  of  William  R.  Adair,  a  very  excellent  gentleman. 
The  brothers  were  intimates  in  the  family  into  which  I 
married  (my  first  wife).  I  cannot  recall  Etting.  The 
American  flag  remains  an  incognito  to  this  day. 

"Tom  Levering,  still  active  at  eighty-two,  meets  me 
sometimes,  and  always  reminds  me  of  my  Don  Quixote, 
which  he  saw  at  the  Fancy  Ball.  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  he  is  the  only  person  now  living,  except  those  above 
mentioned,  who  was  present  at  the  Ball. 

"Sic  TRANSIT  GLORIA  MUNDI  ET  BALLORUM" 


CHAPTER  VIII 

COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE  or  MR.  LATROBE  AND  Miss 
MARGARET  STUART. 

A  man's  affections  and  his  acts  in  his  domestic  life  form 
a  part,  perhaps  the  most  human  part,  of  his  character; 
without  a  consideration  of  this  phase  of  life  it  would  be 
impossible  fully  to  appreciate  the  character  of  the  subject 
of  any  biographical  sketch. 

Margaret  Stuart  was  the  motive  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  life 
from  1824  until  her  death  in  1831,  after  they  had  been 
married  for  only  two  years. 

His  diary  was  begun  on  September  1,  1824.  In  the 
preface  he  says:  "The  last  six  months  have  flown  while 
building  airy  castles  upon  it."  M.  S.  is  a  memento  of 
this.  In  Mr.  Latrobe's  diary  of  this  period  these  letters 
appear  frequently,  forming,  like  a  dollar  mark,  the  initials 
of  Margaret  Stuart. 

There  are  very  few  men  who  ever  realize  the  grand 
passion.  Most  men  get  in  love,  few  fall.  In  the  first  in 
stance  a  man  realizes  that  it  is  a  proper  status  to  be  married 
— to  be  the  father  of  children  and  the  head  of  a  family.  In 
this  condition  of  mind  he  finds  himself  interested,  and  he 
encourages  this  interest  and  declares  himself  in  love.  The 
other  condition  is  an  accident,  like  falling  down  stairs, 
without  rhyme  or  reason.  "There  crosses  his  life's  path 
a  maiden,  but  little  different  from  other  daughters  of  men; 
the  blood  rushes  to  his  heart  and  all  his  senses  are  be 
witched.  Thereafter,  until  the  madness  ends,  his  life 

227 


228  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

belongs  wholly  to  the  new  found  being  of  whom  he  knows 
nothing,  except  that  the  sunlight  seems  more  beautiful 
when  it  touches  her;  he  finds  himself  swept  away  by  an 
absorbing  passion.  He  pictures  the  object  with  all  the 
perfections  a  human  being  can  possess.  It  matters  not 
whether  that  object  has  them;  the  picture  is  made  in  his 
own  heart,  and  she  is  perfect.  His  very  solicitude  and 
anxiety  interfere  with  his  making  a  good  impression  or 
appearing  to  advantage,  and  the  lover  in  such  case  is  but 
a  poor  advocate  for  Ms  own  cause.  He  has  placed  a  human 
object  on  a  pedestal.  He  feels  his  inferiority  and  worships 
her  at  a  distance.  Where,  perhaps,  a  more  aggressive 
lover,  who  treats  the  object  as  a  mere  woman,  would  be 
successful,  he  fails.  The  creation  of  the  ideal  may  be  a  fabric 
of  the  imagination.  If  he  fails  to  obtain  the  object  of  his 
hope,  the  image  he  has  created  remains  in  his  heart.  If 
he  succeeds,  and  the  reality  measures  up  to  the  ideal,  it 
is  a  perfect  union.  Perhaps  the  veil  drops  away,  and  he 
is  among  those  who  "in  courtship  dream,  and  in  wedlock 
wake," — and  he  realizes  that  it  is  a  delusion." 

Mr.  Latrobe's  journal  shows  that  he  conceived  the  grand 
passion  for  Margaret  Stuart,  as  he  writes,  Tuesday,  Septem 
ber  14,  1824:  "I  walked  out  to  Maryland  Square  to  see 
Miss  Stuart. " 

"October  8,  1824.  Saw  M.  S.  at  the  ball.  Told  B.  G. 
of  my  .  .  .  .  t  to  M.S."  These  initials  B.  G.  stand 
for  Miss  Gill  who  was  a  sister  of  George  M.  Gill,  a  great 
friend  of  Mr.  Latrobe.  It  is  evident  that  his  love  affair 
was  not  running  smoothly  when  on  November  16,  1824 
he  wrote  the  following: 

"Whoever  laughs  and  jeers  at  feeling,  whoever  cries  up 
the  callosity  of  the  human  mind,  whoever  insists  that  it  be 
made  perfectly  callous,  is  a  fool,  or  at  least  knows  not  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  229 

depth  of  man's  spiritual  sensations.  Feeling  is  the  heart 
itself;  destroy  feeling,  and  you  destroy  the  heart;  life 
perishes.  Can  you  steal  the  color  from  the  lily?  Can  you 
manufacture  a  pigment  from  the  rose  leaf?  If  you  can, 
you  may  extract  feeling  from  the  heart.  Like  the  rainbow 
it  is  never  seen  in  the  cloudless  sky  of  pleasure.  Clouds, 
sorrow  must  be  present,  or  it  comes  not.  The  winds  that 
bring  the  storm  are  not  more  numerous  than  the  points 
from  which  feeling,  deep,  gnawing,  restless,  indomitable 
feeling,  may  agitate,  corrode  and  destroy  the  heart.  But  I 
am  silly;  I  forget  that  I  write  only  my  own  ideas;  that  other 
hands  are  firm,  while  mine  tremble;  that  other  heads  are 
tranquil,  while  mine  throbs  to  bursting.  This  cannot  last 
forever;  it  must  change  for  the  better  or  worse.  Change  it 
must,  and  I  should  pray  that  the  change  may  free  me.  It  will 
all  soon  be  decided;  there  need  be  no  note  of  explanation. 
I  never  can  forget  the  occasion  of  this  day's  misery;  after 
all,  a  quick  violent  temper  is  much  to  be  preferred,  at  least 
as  an  alternative,  to  one  that  is  slow  to  rouse  into  action. 
The  sorrows  of  the  first,  although  frequent  and,  at  the 
moment,  violent,  are  soon  forgotten;  they  are  characters  of 
chalk  written  on  the  wall,  effaced  as  soon  as  formed.  The 
sorrows  of  the  latter,  equally  violent  when  roused,  are 
enduring;  they  are  like  a  record  written  deep,  very  deep 
into  the  marble.  The  loves  of  two  such  tempers  are  very 
different.  The  first  is  continued  ebullition,  always  per 
ceptible,  always  carrying  with  it  the  consciousness  of  loving. 
It  may  be  lasting,  but  it  is  not  so  necessarily.  The  affection 
of  the  latter  only  becomes  apparent  by  the  intervention 
of  an  agent — most  frequently  sudden  disappointment.  We 
may  at  sea  sail  unconsciously  with  wonderful  rapidity,  but 
it  is  only  when  we  strike  against  an  obstacle  that  we  become 
immediately  aware  of  it.  Experience  is  a  dear  teacher. 


230  JOHN   H.   B.  LATROBE 

I  am  now  anxious  only  to  profit  by  what  the  events  of  the 
last  hours  have  taught  me  of  M.  S. " 

"December  2,  1824.  Called  to  see  Miss  Gill  in  the  eve 
ning,  a  fine  woman,  few  like  her  in  Baltimore,  except  M.  S. " 

After  this  there  appears  to  have  elapsed  quite  an  interval 
of  time  as  the  result  of  this  apparent  quarrel.  There  is 
no  further  entry  in  which  M.  S.  is  found  until  January  31, 
1827,  when  he  says,  writing  of  other  matters  connected 
with  his  profession : 

"  I  have  passed  this  time  in  hard  legal  professional  labor, " 
etc.,  and  then: 

"The  cause  of  rhapsody  in  diary  of  16  November  1824, 
connected  with  the  8th  of  October  and  2nd  December, 
was  not  cured  but  continued.  How  I  shall  ever  recollect, 
although  I  may  or  may  not  write  it.  It  may  or  may  not 
terminate  as  I  wish,  but,  at  all  events,  my  diary  shall  con 
tinue  until  it  does  and  M.  S.  is  changed." 

"May  9,  1827.  Saw  M.  S.  at  5  P.M.  in  company 
until  sundown.  Hours  like  this  with  M.  S.  are  worth 
years  of  common  life. 

"  May  17, 1827.  The  feeling  which  after  years  of  nourish 
ment  is  finally  engrafted  in  the  human  breast  and  called 
affection,  is  a  blessing  or  a  curse  as  it  is  gratified  or  dis 
appointed.  Up  to  the  present  day  I  have  toiled  diligently 
forward  toward  professional  success,  and  have  tried  to 
devote  all  the  powers  of  my  mind  and  the  resources  of  my 
energies  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  object.  But  ambi 
tion  and  necessity  have  not  been  the  only  feelings  which 
have  interested  me  and  occupied  me — another,  that  first 
mentioned,  found  an  abiding  place  in  me  for  two  years 
and  a  half,  and  has  been  my  governing  principle,  fed  at 
times  by  hopes,  discouraged  at  others  by  doubt.  I  have 
gone  on  with  alternate  zest  and  disinclination  in  my  course 
of  life,  until  I  have  reached  that  height  at  which  I  am  con- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  231 

fident  that  disappointment,  final  disappointment  would 
leave  me  a  half  broken-hearted  being  without  ambition, 
without  energy,  without  one  active  principle  within  him 
to  urge  him  from  the  dull  listlessness  of  despair.  Once 
I  undertook  to  conquer  these  feelings,  and  for  months 
removed  myself  from  and  avoided  the  presence  of  the 
object.  Accidentally  we  met,  and  I  was  convinced  that  my 
fate,  my  happiness,  were  set  upon  the  cast  of  a  die;  and  my 
determination  to  run  this  risk  was  the  consequence  of  a 
necessity,  which  I  have  neither  the  wish  nor  the  power  to 
overcome.  All  this  has  been  made  apparent  to  me  for  the 
fiftieth  time  today." 

Here  we  are,  admitted  to  the  inner  chamber  of  his  being  and 
we  see  the  strong  feelings  that  are  the  motive  power  of  his  life 

"What  moods,  what  passions,  what  nights  of  despair  and 
gathering  storms  of  anger,  what  sudden  cruelties  and  amaz 
ing  tendernesses,  are  buried  and  hidden  in  every  love  story," 
as  a  modern  writer  says. 

In  Byron's  dream  the  same  condition  is  met  when  he 
describes  the  lover: 

He  had  no  breath,  no  being,  but  in  her, 

She  was  his  voice, 

He  had  ceased  to  live  within  himself, 

She  was  his  life, 

The  ocean  to  the  river  of  his  thoughts. 

Mr.  Latrobe  experienced  the  miseries  in  this  courtship, 
so  well  described  in  language  applicable  to  another  chaj> 
acter  of  suit  by  Spenser. 

Full  little  knowest  thou,  that  hast  not  tried, 
What  Hell  it  is,  in  suing  long  to  bide, 
To  lose  good  days,  that  might  be  better  spent, 
To  waste  long  nights  in  pensive  discontent, 
To  speed  today,  to  be  put  back  tomorrow, 
To  feed  on  hope,  to  pine  with  fear  and  sorrow. 


232  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

He  writes  in  his  diary  nearly  three  years  after  making 
the  first  entry,  when  he  had  passed  six  months  in  building 
airy  castles,  of  which  Margaret  Stuart  was  the  cause. 

"July  13,  1827.  At  Maryland  Square  all  the  evening. 
In  the  course  of  my  long  acquaintance  with  the  family,  I 
never  had  spent  so  pleasant  an  evening  as  this.  The  only 
human  being  I  ever  was  attached  to  was  there,  and  hour 
on  hour  flew  unnoted  by,  while  enjoying  her  society.  To 
her  I  look  for  happiness  as  great  as  mortals  deserve,  for 
success,  for  encouragement,  for  improvement  of  head  and 
heart;  and  a  life  devoted  to  her  will  be  but  a  poor  return. 

"August  26.  Sunday.  Reading  'Life  of  Napoleon'  by 
Scott.  I  am  now  four  and  twenty,  and  what  have  I  done? 
At  six  and  twenty,  Napoleon  was  the  conqueror  of  Italy. 
Have  I  done  as  much  in  my  humble  sphere,  and  with  my 
limited  means  as  much  in  proportion?  No. 

"September  10.  Saw  M.  S.  at  10  o'clock.  Had  a  long 
and  most  delightful  walk  with  her.  The  gratification  de 
rived  from  her  presence  surpasses  all  other  enjoyment,  and 
with  a  community  and  sympathy  of  feeling  which  never 
existed  with  another  human  being  we  go  on  in  one  delight 
ful  course  of  enjoyment. " 

On  September  19th  he  is  miserable. 

On  September  21st,  M.  S.  made  delightful  amends  for 
all  the  mistakes  of  Wednesday. 

So  far  as  the  girl  was  concerned,  this  was  the  end  of  all 
his  uncertainty;  after  three  years  and  a  half  of  courtship 
she  finally  decided  in  his  favor. 

"October  1,  1827,  Monday.  Had  a  long  talk  with  M.  S. 
who  leaves  tomorrow  with  her  sister  for  New  York.  We 
had  previously  agreed  upon  the  separation  as  enabling  me 
to  ask  her  father's  consent  that  she  should  be  mine  for- 
•ever.  The  obtaining  of  this  request  was  somewhat  doubt- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  233 

ful,  and  we  agreed  that  even  if  it  was  refused  it  should 
make  no  alteration  in  our  sentiments  towards  each  other, 
but  that  faithfully  we  would  still  continue,  until  circum 
stances  altered  in  our  favor;  until  her  father,  finding  us  un 
changed,  ceased  to  oppose  our  wishes,  or  until  some  lucky 
accident  or  other  would  enable  us  to  be  united.  We  spoke 
of  the  matter  as  one  which  was  to  end  but  with  our  lives; 
and  certain  of  my  faith,  and  no  more  doubting  her  than  I 
doubt  my  existence,  I  repose  with  confidence  upon  the 
delightful  certainty  of  calling  her,  sooner  or  later,  by  the 
most  endearing  of  names.  I  left  her  at  2  o'clock,  and  met 
her  again  at  3 — accidentally.  In  the  hope  of  meeting  her, 
I  had  purchased  a  gold  and  many  silver  thimbles  to  re 
place  one  which  she  had  lost.  She  refused  the  gold,  but 
selected  one  of  the  silver,  and  -gave  it  to  me  to  have  the 
initials  of  her  name  placed  upon  it.  We  had  before  ex 
changed  eye  glasses,  and  we  now  agreed  that  so  long  as  we 
kept  them,  though  silent  and  absent,  so  long  should  we 
be  for  each  other. 

"  She  wished  to  know  the  result  of  the  election,  when  all 
the  wards  but  the  12th  were  heard  from.  I  mounted  my 
horse,  rode  to  the  12th,  reached  it  just  as  the  counting  was 
finished,  obtained  the  aggregate,  and  galloped  to  her  home 
in  the  country.  It  was  half  past  nine  when  I  reached  the 
place.  I  rode  up  the  hill  on  the  right  of  the  road,  con 
cealed  my  horse  behind  some  trees,  and  stole  to  the  front 
door.  The  house  was  silent,  and  fastening  the  sheet  of 
paper  to  the  handle  of  the  lock,  I  rang  the  bell  violently 
and  ran  off  to  my  horse.  Three  springs  nearly  brought  me 
to  the  gate  and  by  10  o'clock  I  was  in  bed. 

"October  2,  1827.  At  4  o'clock  I  started  for  the  steamer 
to  see  M.  S.  off.  Bought  the  'Epicurean'  to  amuse  her  on 
the  journey.  Saw  her,  talked  to  her,  and  parted.  She 


234  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

told  me  that  she  got  the  thimble,  which  I  had  left  at  the 
summer  house  on  my  nocturnal  scamper.  I  stood  on  the 
wharf  until  the  steamboat  was  out  of  sight,  and  returned 
home  melancholy  enough.  George  Gill  played  chess  with 
me. 

"October  4,  1827.  It  had  been  agreed  upon  between 
M.  S.  and  myself  that  I  should  write  to  her,  asking  her 
permission  to  speak  to  her  father  on  the  subject  of  my 
attachment.  This  letter  I  wrote  today,  and  sent  off .  What 
trouble  did  it  not  give  me?  A  letter  such  as  my  feelings 
would  have  dictated  could  have  been  easily  composed,  but  the 
business  letter  which  I  had  now  to  write  was  intolerably 
different.  Rode  with  Kennedy  in  the  afternoon,  and  in 
the  morning  went  to  'Clifton'  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles 
Harper  to  see  Henry  Thompson  and  his  wife. 

"  October  7th.    How  dull  and  uninteresting  without  M.  S. 

"October  9th.  Received  letter  from  M.  S.  informing  me 
that  she  had  enclosed  mine  to  her  father,  referring  me  to 
him.  Immediately  wrote  to  him  a  frank  and  candid  letter, 
and  sent  it  to  him  at  3.30. 

"October  llth.  On  horseback  at  10  o'clock  and  rode 
to  Maryland  Square  to  see  Dr.  Stuart  on  the  subject  of  my 
letter  to  him  of  Tuesday.  Found  that  he  had  left  town  for 
the  farm  on  Sparrows  Point,  fifteen  miles  off.  Turned  my 
horse's  head  and  rode  after  him.  It  was  the  loveliest  day 
of  our  lovely  autumn,  when  nature  dresses  herself  in  her 
many  colored  robes  and,  like  a  merry  harlequin,  disposes 
the  whole  heart  to  mirth  and  pleasure.  There  was  not 
one  cloud,  and  the  partridge  whistled  and  the  lark  sang 
its  sweet  notes  in  accordance  with  the  scene.  I  verily 
believe  I  was  the  only  melancholy  thing  within  a  mile  of 
me  as  I  moved,  and  I  was  sad  only  because  the  happiness 
of  my  future  was  depending  upon  the  result  of  my  visit  to 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  235 

the  Point.  At  last  I  reached  the  farm  and  saw  its  owner, 
and  in  five  minutes  was  the  happiest  of  men.  He  behaved 
like  a  prince  as  he  is,  heart  and  feeling.  No  human  being 
could  have  acted  more  nobly  or  honorably — and  his  daughter 
is  mine — and  life  is  smiling  before  me.  I  remained  only 
20  minutes  and  returned  to  Baltimore  a  different  being 
from  what  I  was  when  I  left  it.  Reached  town  at  half  past 
four,  just  in  time  to  write  a  few  lines  informing  her  of 
my  success,  and  calling  her  my  own. 

"  Tuesday,  October  18th.  Reached  New  York  ten  o'clock 
sent  a  note  to  M.  S.  informing  her  of  my  arrival,  and  that 
I  would  be  with  her  at  twelve  o'clock.  Twelve  o'clock  I 
went  to  Mrs.  Delpratt's  and  saw  M.  S.  This  day  I  became 
engaged  to  be  married  to  Miss  Margaret  Stuart,  whose 
initials  have  so  often  occurred  in  the  record  of  the  last  three 
years.  The  doubt  which  had  hitherto  clouded  my  hopes 
was  now  entirely  dispersed;  Dr.  Stuart  has  given  me  his 
consent,  and,  fondly  and  devotedly  attached  to  her,  I  have 
this  day  plighted  my  faith  and  received  hers — the  greatest 
earthly  gift — in  return.  The  future  may  see  these  pages 
when  I  have  passed  away,  and  should  Heaven  grant  me  life 
and  make  me  the  head  of  a  family,  there  may  be  those  who 
would  rejoice  to  read  the  description  of  her  whom  I  have  so 
long  and  truly  loved.  I  am  a  lover,  it  is  true,  but  still  as 
a  lover  I  can  speak  without  exaggeration.  In  person 
Margaret  Stuart  is  of  the  middle  size  of  woman.  Her 
figure  is  the  most  perfect  that  I  ever  saw — remarkable  for 
grace  and  ease,  and  so  erect  and  dignified  as  to  give  the 
impression  of  being  a  much  taller  woman  than  she  really  is. 
Her  face  is  most  animated  and  expressive,  her  eyes  are  un 
equalled  for  fire  and  tenderness,  her  mouth  conveys  the 
idea  of  decision  and  judgment,  her  hair  is  very  dark  and  of 
the  finest  texture  and  most  glossy  hue.  In  her  air  and 


236  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

carriage  there  is  the  highest  tone  of  fashion,  and  appear 
where  she  would,  Margaret  Stuart  would  always  occasion 
the  question  'Who  is  she?' 

"Her  mental  qualities  are  of  the  noblest  order.  Her 
conduct  as  a  daughter  is  unrivalled.  Her  religious  senti 
ments  are  pure  and  holy,  not  exhibiting  themselves  in  her 
words,  but  giving  serenity  to  the  mind  and  equanimity  to 
her  feelings.  Her  character  is  remarkable  for  soundness 
of  judgment  and  energy.  Her  accomplishments  are  many 
and,  far  from  being  cultivated  for  the  purpose  of  display, 
appear  to  have  been  acquired  for  her  own  amusement  and 
that  of  her  intimate  friends.  You  discover  only  by  degrees 
that  she  is  a  first  rate  musician  and  possesses  more  varied 
information  than  most  women  have  found  tune  to  acquire. 
Joined  to  all  this  she  is  the  tenderest  and  kindest  of  human 
beings,  and  the  arch  humor  of  her  playful  smile,  like  the 
energy  of  the  animated  countenance,  is  bewitching  and 
enchanting.  She  has  always  lived  the  child  of  fashion,  but 
has  taken  nothing  from  her  parents  but  the  elegance  of  her 
manners. 

The  mind  can  make 
Substance  and  people  planets  of  its  own 
With  beings  brighter  than  have  been,  and  give 
A  breath  to  form  which  can  outlive  all  flesh. 

"Monday,  October  22nd.  Margaret  procured  a  thimble 
from  me  as  a  keepsake,  and  gave  me  one  more  precious  in 
return.  I  sat  with  her  until  half  past  eleven,  when  I  started 
for  the  steamboat.  At  12  I  left  New  York,  travelled  with 
the  Boatswain  of  the  ship  in  which  Lord  Byron  was  in  the 
Mediterranean  and  who  swam  with  him  from  Sestos  to 
Abydos.  He  gave  me  many  amusing  anecdotes. 

"  October  25th.    Wrote  to  Margaret  Stuart.     Saw  Bessy 


LANDING  AT  THREE  RIVERS,  1830 
Painted  by  John  H.  B:  Lalrole 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  237 

Stuart  and  spoke  to  her  on  the  subject  of  our  engagement, 
and  with  her  all  things  are  smooth." 
In  his  autobiography  we  find  the  following: 
"I  had  been  for  years  attracted  to  the  eldest  daughter 
of  Dr.  James  Stuart.  She  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  society 
in  Baltimore.  Distinguished  in  her  carriage  and  noble  in 
her  heart  and  temper.  Elegant  in  her  figure,  refined  in 
manner,  agreeable  in  conversation,  and,  without  being 
handsome,  with  a  countenance  full  of  expression,  and  while 
attractive,  remarkable  for  personal  dignity.  She  was  sev 
eral  years  older  than  I  was,  and  a  woman  of  society.  I 
was  in  earnest  in  the  hope  of  winning  her  and  persevered. 
At  first  she  laughed  at  me,  but  in  the  end  I  succeeded.  I 
have  told  the  story  of  my  courtship,  I  think,  in  one  of  the 
novelettes  I  wrote,  perhaps  'The  Mortgage,'  perhaps 
'Gates  Heatherby.'  My  earnings  of  1828  justified  our 
marriage,  which  took  place  November  29,  1828,  and  I 
moved  from  Lexington  Street  above  Pine  to  Lexington 
Street  above  Calvert,  my  office  still  remaining  in  the  Athen 
aeum  Building." 

Again  quoting  from  his  autobiography  we  find: 
"On  the  31st  of  January  1831  my  dear  first  wife  died. 
A  truer,  a  nobler  woman  never  lived.  It  is  a  long  time  to 
look  back  to  the  two  years  of  my  widower  life,  and  I  have 
but  a  very  general  recollection  of  the  events  that  transpired 
during  them." 

His  diary  ended  in  1830.  No  other  diary  was  commenced 
until  1832. 

From  a  sketch  book  in  my  possession  it  would  appear 
that  shortly  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  traveled  in 
Canada;  he  kept  no  record  of  his  trip  except  his  sketch  book 
which  contains  pictures  of  the  different  places  he  visited. 
In  the  summer  of  1832  he  went  to  Virginia  Springs,  where 
he  met  -Miss  Claiborne,  who  became  his  second  wife. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DESCRIPTION  or  MONTPELIER — UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA — 

MONTICELLO  AND  THE  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS, 

AS  MR.  LATROBE  SAW  THEM  IN  1832. 

On  the  4th  of  August  1832  Mr.  Latrobe  left  Baltimore 
to  spend  his  summer  holiday  in  Virginia.  The  route  to 
the  Springs  was  by  stage,  through  Washington,  and  then 
by  boat  down  the  Potomac  to  a  point  where  Potomac 
Creek  enters  the  river.  From  this  point  he  travelled  by 
stage  to  Fredericksburg,  through  Orange  Courthouse, 
Montpelier  (Madison's  mansion  was  about  five  miles  from 
the  Courthouse)  and  Charlottesville  (University  of  Vir 
ginia  and  Monticello,  Jefferson's  home)  to  Staunton,  and 
thence  through  the  Warm  Springs  and  Hot  Springs  to  the 
White  Sulphur  Springs.  Staunton  is  about  18  miles  from 
the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  the  Springs  are  not  far 
apart.  It  may  be  interesting  to  note  Mr.  Latrobe's  de 
scription  of  the  Captain  of  a  river  steamboat  of  that  day. 
"The  Captain  has  curly  sandy  hair  and  a  long  queue, 
wears  a  new  beaver  hat  with  an  immense  long  nap,  striped 
stockings,  and  buckles  on  his  shoes,  and  being  a  good  looking 
middle-aged  man,  is  one  of  the  happiest  and  best  represen 
tatives  of  his  kind  that  I  have  ever  seen.  He  talks  staidly 
too,  is  attentive  to  the  ladies,  and  has  a  light  quick,  grey 
eye  that  speaks  a  whole  volume  of  character  for  him.  In  a 
word,  he  is  a  man  of  mark." 

In  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Charles  Carroll  Harper,  he 
describes  his  visit  to  Montpelier,  President  Madison's 
home. 

238 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  239 

"  Charlottesville, 
Saturday  Night, 

August  4,  1832. 
"Dear  Charles: 

"Here  I  am  continuing  my  helter  skelter  letter. 

"Mr.  Madison  resides  about  five  miles  from  the  Court 
House,  among  the  Southwest  mountains,  and  upon  the 
slope  of  one  of  them.  You  leave  the  Piedmont  road  about 
a  mile  from  Montpelier  and,  turning  to  the  left,  pass  through 
a  dense  forest  for  a  considerable  distance  and  until  you 
descry  at  the  end  of  a  straight  alley  in  the  wood  a  high  red 
gate,  hung  upon  white  posts.  Entering  this,  you  find 
yourself  in  a  clearing,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  forest, 
and  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  diameter.  Close  against 
the  opposite  woods,  you  see  the  mansion  of  Mr.  Madison, 
a  double  two  story  building  of  brick  with  low  wings,  and 
having  a  portico  as  high  as  the  roof  with  four  columns  of 
the  Roman,  Doric  or  Tuscan  order,  and  a  pediment  of  about 
the  same  proportions  as  that  of  Nevin's  Church.  The 
whole  design  is  in  bad  taste,  yet  sufficiently  imposing.  You 
now  pass  through  a  very  large  field,  lying  in  fallow  at  this 
time,  and  showing  here  and  there  huge  splotches  of  the  dark 
red  soil  common  to  this  whole  region  of  country.  Another 
red  gate  admits  you  into  the  plantation,  which  more  im 
mediately  belongs  to  the  establishment.  Stopping  at  a 
small  gate  in  a  very  handsome  paling,  you  ascend  the  gravel 
walk  and  find  yourself  under  the  portico  of  Montpelier. 
To  the  right  an  avenue  of  trees  is  terminated  by  a  temple 
of  six  Tuscan  columns,  and  to  the  left,  peeping  through  the 
foliage  near  the  house,  you  catch  a  glimpse  at  some  distance 
of  the  estate.  Well  now,  I  hope  you  see  Montpelier  in 
your  mind's  eye. 

"I  handed  my  letter  from  my  mother  to  Mrs.  Madison 


240  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

to  the  servant  and  was  ushered  into  the  drawing  room. 
En  attendant,  let  us  look  around  it.  Its  walls  are  covered 
with  paintings,  save  where  two  immense  mirrors  on  the 
side  at  which  you  enter  conceal  large  porticos.  Here  are 
Stuart's  portraits  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Madison,  and  one  of 
his  very  best  of  Mr.  Jefferson;  also  a  copy  by  him  of  his 
original  portrait  of  Washington;  a  very  good  head  of  the 
elder  Adams  by  Trumbull;  and  numerous  paintings,  some 
quite  large,  procured  by  Paine  Todd,  when  he  was  in  Europe. 
Numerous  small  busts  in  terra  cotta  of  distinguished  men 
are  upon  the  mantle  piece  and  along  the  cornice  of  the 
principal  door  in  the  apartment;  and  under  one  of  the  looking 
glasses  there  is  the  finest  statue  in  bronze  of  Napoleon  at 
Elba,  with  the  figure  of  Icarus  upon  the  pedestal,  that  I 
have  ever  seen.  Another  statue  of  Napoleon,  the  same,  but 
very  small,  is  in  a  less  distinguished  situation.  In  the 
centre  of  the  mantlepiece  there  is  a  bronze  statue  of  Louis 
XVIII,  the  upper  part  of  which  comes  off  and  discloses 
the  small  Napoleon  I  speak  of — the  whole  is  a  capital 
caricature.  The  various  books  he  presented  to  Mr.  Mad 
ison,  one  containing  a  collection  of  American  medals,  lie 
about  the  drawing  room.  A  piano  is  in  one  recess;  an  elec 
trical  machine  occupies  a  corner;  and  sofas,  chaises,  lounges, 
a  rich  French  carpet,  and  handsome  chairs  complete  the 
furniture.  To  the  right  is  a  very  broad  passage  with  a 
waxed  floor,  wainscoted  and  hung  with  paintings  of  various 
merits  and  demerits.  Another  apartment,  into  which 
you  get  a  glimpse  from  the  drawing  room,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  passage,  contains  a  collection  of  casts,  chiefly 
busts,  many  of  which  are  very  good — as  Joel  Barlow,  Paul 
Jones,  Clay,  Mr.  Madison  himself,  and  John  Quincy  Adams. 
But  Mrs  Madison  had  made  her  appearance,  and  I  must 
defer  the  gratification  of  my  curiosity  in  the  paintings 
and  knick-knacks  until  another  time. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  241 

"My  recollection  of  Mrs.  Madison's  appearance  have 
always  been  very  distinct;  for  she  was  considered  like  my 
mother  some  sixteen  or  twenty  years  ago,  and  when  she 
entered  the  room  it  seemed  to  me  as  though  I  had  parted 
with  her  only  yesterday — so  little  had  time  been  able  to 
change  her  personal  appearance — not  a  wrinkle,  no  altera 
tion  in  her  complexion,  no  difference  in  her  walk.  She  had 
escaped  unscathed  as  the  spoiler  passed;  and  Stuart's 
portrait,  more  than  twenty  years  old,  might  still  be  judged 
without  injustice  to  it,  by  comparison,  with  the  original. 
A  lady's  age  may  not  always  be  told,  but  Mrs.  Madison 
was  between  sixty  and  seventy.  I  speak  knowingly,  for 
her  son  is  my  informant. 

"Upon  my  enquiring  after  Mr.  Madison's  health,  she 
told  me  that  he  had  that  day  for  the  first  time  for  twelve 
months  ridden  out,  with  especial  benefit  to  him,  and  soon 
after  she  led  the  way  to  the  room  which  he  occupies  on  the 
eastern  wing  of  the  building.  I  remember  Mr.  Madison 
well,  and  recalled  the  image  of  a  small,  thin  gentlemanly 
looking  man  in  a  full  suit  of  black,  with  a  head  inclining 
to  be  bald,  and  hair  neatly  arranged  and  whitened  by  time, 
and  the  powder  that  he  was  accustomed  to  wear.  But 
sixteen  years  had  wrought  here  a  change  as  if  time,  vexed 
at  the  little  impression  he  could  make  upon  the  wife,  had 
dealt  towards  the  husband  with  a  hand  of  no  ordinary 
force  and  with  double  energy. 

"Mr.  Madison  was  lying  upon  a  French  bed,  supported 
by  pillows,  a  white  cap  drawn  down  to  his  eyebrows,  and 
a  white  flannel  dressing  gown  wrapt  around  his  attenuated 
form.  His  face  was  extremely  emaciated,  and  his  eyes 
rested  in  their  orbits  with  a  quiet  and  almost  dull  inex- 
pressiveness.  Mrs.  Madison  mentioned  my  name,  and,  ex 
tending  his  hand  to  me,  he  gave  warm  and  welcome  greeting 


242  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

in  a  voice,  whose  clearness,  strength  and  readiness  astonished 
me,  where  I  had  expected  from  his  general  appearance 
but  feeble  and  inarticulate  tones.  I  seated  myself  on  a 
chair  at  his  bedside  and  the  conversation  was  confined  at 
first  to  ordinary  topics  on  such  occasions.  One  thing  led 
to  another,  however,  and  dinner  time  arrived  long  before  I 
expected  it.  Dinner  was  served  in  the  room  adjoining 
Mr.  Madison's  in  very  handsome  style,  Mrs.  Madison, 
Paine  Todd,  her  son,  a  niece  of  hers,  Anne  Paine,  a  child 
quite,  and  myself  sitting  down  to  it.  Rarely  have  I  drunk 
finer  wine.  After  dinner  Mr.  Madison,  who  sees  the  table 
from  where  he  lies,  called  me  to  him,  and  the  conversation 
which  dinner  interrupted  was  resumed  and  continued  until 
half  past  nine.  I  made  several  movements  to  leave  his 
bedside,  saying  I  feared  that  he  fatigued  himself,  but  he 
would  not  hear  of  it,  replying  that  his  lungs  were  the  strong 
est  part  of  him  that  was  left;  and  I  continued,  therefore, 
with  him  until  his  usual  hour  of  retiring  for  the  night.  I 
had  proposed  when  I  left  the  Court  House  to  return  there  at 
night,  but  having  been  kindly  pressed  to  remain  until  the 
next  day,  I  dismissed  my  Jehu,  and  took  up  my  quarters  in 
an  immense  room  fitted  up  with  great  taste  and  abounding 
in  comforts.  This  morning  I  was  up  betimes,  and,  having 
commenced  the  day  by  getting  a  confounded  hoist  upon 
the  waxed  and  dry  rubbed  floor,  strolled  about  until  break 
fast  time,  after  which  Mr.  Madison  again  called  me  to  his 
bedside,  and  conversed  until  it  was  time  for  me  to  leave 
Montpelier  to  meet  the  stage  that  was  to  take  me  to  Char- 
lottesville.  I  was  furnished  with  a  horse,  and  Mr.  Todd 
accompanied  me  to  the  Court  House. 

"This  visit  was  worth  all  the  fatigue  of  a  much  longer 
journey.  Mr.  Madison  was  excited  by  feeling  that  he  was 
in  better  health  than  he  had  been  for  a  long  time,  and  spoke 


WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS,  1832 
Painted  by  John  H,  B.  Latrobe 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  243 

freely  and  fluently  upon  all  the  subjects  of  interest  which 
now  agitate  the  country.  Once  he  laughingly  suggested 
that  nothing  he  said  would  get  into  the  newspapers  through 
me,  as  had  been  the  case  sometimes  with  his  remarks  to 
others  who  had  visited  him.  He  takes  a  deep  interest  in  what 
is  going  on  in  the  world,  and  is  very  fully  posted  as  to  facts. 
I  could  fill  a  quire  with  my  recollections  of  what  he  said, 
but  such  is  not  my  purpose.  He  spoke  much  of  Coloniza 
tion;  took  an  interest  in  hearing  what  Maryland  had  done; 
regretted  that  the  interest  excited  in  the  Virginia  legislature 
at  its  last  session  seemed  in  a  great  degree  to  have  died 
away,  but  considered  that  the  scheme  must  and  would  go 
on.  The  journey  of  the  Landers,  Sparks,  Denham  and 
Clapperton  were  mentioned  by  him  in  a  manner,  too,  which 
showed  that  he  had  reflected  much  upon  the  subject.  Then 
came  the  present  condition  of  Virginia;  that  led  to  the  past, 
and  reminiscenses  of  earlier  times  flowed  fast  from  his  lips. 
The  Virginia  Charter,  as  modified  by  the  increase  among 
and  beyond  the  mountains,  furnished  interesting  matter 
for  remark;  the  late  convention,  details  respecting  it,  that 
have  not  found  their  way  to  the  public;  his  own  motive  for 
becoming  a  member  of  it,  his  relations  during  it  with  his 
constitutents,  many  of  which  were  singular  and  deeply 
interesting;  Governor  Giles,  John  Randolph,  Mr.  Monroe, 
the  Chief  Justice,  were  all  mentioned;  also  many  names  of 
less  note,  such  as  Brown,  Johnson,  McDowell,  Watkins, 
etc.  Then  we  got  upon  nullification;  then  the  bank  and 
the  veto;  the  tariff;  the  Constitution  and  its  construction; 
the  most  interesting  part  of  the  conversation  by  the  way, 
was  the  causes  of  the  depression  in  the  South;  the  result  of 
the  threatened  declaration  of  the  Legislature  of  South 
Carolina,  nullifying  the  revenue  laws.  Then  Mr.  Madison 
turned  the  conversation  to  internal  improvement,  and 


244  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

made  many  and  minute  inquiries  about  the  railroad  in 
Maryland,  and  went  into  an  examination  of  the  probable 
results  of  the  systems  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and 
Maryland  upon  each  other,  when  completed.  Literary 
subjects  followed,  and  he  spoke  of  Defoe's  works,  and  asked 
many  questions  about  Kennedy,  author  of  'Swallow  Barn.' 
Occasionally  during  his  conversation  he  would  laugh  heartily 
and  throughout  spoke  with  spirit  and  relish.  Of  course,  I 
was  but  a  listener,  except  when  questioned,  or  when  I 
wanted  to  give  a  particular  direction  to  his  remarks.  His 
sketches  of  individuals  were  very  happy.  Pinkney  he 
talked  about  much,  Mr.  Jay,  Sam  Chase,  Daniel  Dulany, 
Patrick  Henry,  your  father,  and  others.  He  dwelt  a  good 
deal  upon  the  events  of  the  late  war,  and  gave  me  a  most 
interesting  description  of  Paul  Jones,  and  vindicated  his 
memory  from  the  common  errors  respecting  his  life  and 
habits.  He  spoke,  too,  of  the  fine  arts,  though  without 
pretense,  chiefly  confining  himself  to  the  statues  and  por 
traits  of  Washington.  He  asked  me  many  questions  about 
people  now  active  in  the  world,  whom  I  had  seen;  a  great 
many  about  Taney,  whom  he  got  me  to  describe,  and  whose 
opinions  he  enquired  much  about.  He  asked  me  what 
General  Harper's  son  was  doing,  whom  you  had  married, 
whether  you  promised  anything,  what  were  your  occupa 
tions,  remarking  that  'history,  politics  and  political  economy 
were  apt  studies  to  fit  one  for  place  and  authority.'  He 
then  asked  what  your  family  consisted  of,  that  is,  whether 
you  had  brothers  and  sisters,  and  I  beg  you  to  tell  Emily 
that  I  have  had  the  honor  of  expressing  my  best,  so  far  as 
I  was  competent  to  the  task,  in  portraying  her  image  to 
the  mind's  eye  of  my  auditors.  They  both  asked  very 
kindly  after  your  mother,  as  an  old  acquaintance.  And 
thus,  Charles,  I  whiled  away  my  time  at  Montpelier,  and 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  245 

could  I  always  have  such  opportunity  of  playing  listener, 
talker  as  I  am,  I  would  give  up  talking.  I  have  passed, 
at  all  events ,  one  agreeable  and  most  instructive  day  on 
my  journeying,  and  have  got  new  material  for  thought,  and 
I  hope  some  valuable  lessons  for  action  from  the  lips  of  one 
who  must  soon  pass  away — one  of  the  fathers  of  the  land. 

NOTE — By  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe  years  after: 

"It  was  in  the  course  of  this  conversation  that  Mr.  Madi 
son  said  the  Constitution  had  two  enemies — one  that  would 
stretch  it  to  death,  and  one  that  would  squeeze  it  to  death. " 

Leaving  Orange,  he  reached  Charlottesville,  and  visited 
the  University  of  Virginia  and  Monticello. 

A  letter  which  I  found  in  an  old  letter  book  of  the  elder 
Latrobe  bears  such  a  peculiar  interest  to  John  H.  B.  La- 
trobe's  visit  to  and  description  of  these  historic  places  that 
I  insert  it  and  give  some  explanatory  remarks  concerning 
it  at  this  point. 

"Washington,  June  28,  1817. 
"Thomas  Jefferson,  Esq., 

Monticello. 
"Dear  Sir: 

"I  have  so  much  pleasure  in  studying  the  plans  of  your 
College  that  the  drawings  have  grown  into  a  larger  bulk 
than  can  be  conveniently  sent  by  mail.  If  you  can  point 
out  to  me  any  convenient  mode  of  conveyance,  within  a 
few  days,  I  shall  gladly  avail  myself  of  it.  I  have  put  the 
whole  upon  a  very  large  sheet  which  I  am  very  unwilling 
to  double,  and  to  roll  it  on  a  stick  would  make  it  inconveni 
ent  for  the  mail  boy.  "Respectfully, 

B.  H.  LATROBE." 

It  has  generally  been  accepted,  I  believe,  that  the  design 
of  the  University  of  Virginia  was  the  product  of  Mr.  Jeffer 
son's  unaided  genius. 


246  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Mr.  B.  H.  Latrobe  was  an  architect  engaged  in  building 
the  Capitol  during  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration,  and  was 
subsequently  engaged  in  the  same  work  under  Madison's 
administration  in  1817. 

In  Mr.  Bernard  Steiner's  Report  1898-99  of  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education,  Chapter  XI,  p.  577  is  given  a 
letter  of  Rev.  Samuel  Knox  to  Jefferson  in  1798,  setting 
forth  his  views  of  a  University  which  are  embodied  in  the 
University  as  built,  modified  somewhat. 

As  a  student  at  the  University  thirty-six  years  after  Mr. 
Latrobe's  visit,  I  can  vouch  for  the  accuracy  and  truth  of 
his  criticism.  There  was  about  it  an  air  of  neglect  and  in 
completeness,  like  a  half  finished  building,  abandoned  for 
want  of  funds.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  in  late  years  the 
University  of  Virginia  has  had  new  life  and  vigor,  and, 
under  its  present  capable  President,  it  is  fast  assuming  a 
different  appearance  and  position.  Many  valuable  gifts 
and  additions  have  been  made.  The  original  grand  ideas 
are  being  carried  out,  and  the  University  of  Virginia 
is  rapidly  becoming  one  of  the  handsomest  of  our  public 
institutions  of  learning. 

LETTER  or  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

DESCRIPTION  OF  UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA  AND  MONTICELLO 

"August  1832, 

Charlottesville. 

"This  morning  I  started  with  my  letter  to  Dr.  Dunlinson, 
a  professor  at  the  University.  Found  him  at  home,  and,  as 
he  is  a  pleasant  man,  we  soon  became  well  acquainted.  He 
is  a  professor  from  England  selected  by  Mr.  Jefferson  for 
the  University,  and  is  highly  esteemed.  He  was  with  Mr. 
Jefferson  when  he  died.  Mr.  Dunlison  took  me  over  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  247 

building,  and  showed  me  the  lines  of  the  place.  I  will 
not  attempt  to  describe  the  university,  as  I  believe  you  have 
seen  views  of  it.  The  recent  large  map  of  Virginia  contains 
a  very  accurate  one. 

"There  are  four  rows  of  buildings,  composed  of  one 
story  colonnades,  under  which  are  the  student's  rooms; 
and  at  equal  distances  are  the  two  inner  rows  and  the  pro 
fessors'  houses  two  stories  in  height,  with  porticos  of  various 
architecture.  At  the  upper  side  of  the  lawn  is  the  rotunda, 
containing  the  library,  a  beautiful  room. 

"The  recitation  and  lecture  room,  and  other  philosophical 
chemical  and  mineralogical  cabinets. 

"See  margin  for  general  idea." 

"Mr.  Jefferson  was  certainly  not  a  man  of  good  taste, 
and  this  university,  which  was  built  under  his  direction, 
proves  it.  He  has  adopted  the  Roman  order,  the  system 
of  Palladio,  the  style  of  the  age  of  Louis  XIV,  and  has 
studiously  kept  out  of  view  the  very  idea  of  Grecian  pro 
portion  or  form.  His  Doric  is  the  worst  Tuscan,  his  Ionic 
is  from  the  worst  models,  his  Corinthian  is  tolerable  only, 
and  the  composite  pillars  of  the  library  complete  a  melange 
which  has  nothing  to  recommend  it  but  its  general  effect, 
which  is  striking  and  singular.  The  whole  has  a  shabby 
genteel  look,  and  is  already  showing  marks  left  by  time  on 
its  frail  materials.  The  columns  are  of  stucco,  some  of  the 
capitals  and  bases  of  wood,  others  imported  at  immense- 
expense  from  Italy  to  be  joined  to  brick  and  plaster.  The: 
mortar  is  peeling  off  in  many  places,  showing  the  red  bricks, 
underneath.  The  wood  is  yawning,  with  wide,  long  splits, 

There  is  to  be  a  marble  pavement,  which  never  will  be* 
Here  is  a  wooden  terrace,  which  is  fast  taking  rank  among  the 
'has-beens.'  Parts  of  the  rotunda  have  not  yet  received 
their  second  coat  of  paint.  The  whole  is,  in  fact,  a  half 


248  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

and  half  sort  of  an  affair.  The  Legislature  erected  the  build 
ing  at  great  cost,  and  will  let  it  tumble  to  pieces  for  the  want 
of  a  small  annual  outlay.  The  endowment  of  $15,000  is 
applied  to  the  salaries  of  the  Professors.  Notwithstanding 
all  this,  no  one  can  visit  the  University  of  Virginia  without 
being  struck,  and  though  he  may,  like  myself,  indulge  in 
minor  criticism,  he  must  award  high  honor  to  the  State 
which  erected  this  temple  of  learning,  which  after  all  may 
be  fairly  said  to  adorn  this  part  of  Virginia." 

Mr.  Latrobe  then  described  his  visit  to  Monticello. 

"I  got  a  horse  on  my  return  to  the  tavern,  and  started 
to  Monticello,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  off,  on  the  summit 
•of  the  mountain  immediately  above  the  Ravenna.  It  had 
rained  heavily  for  the  last  hour.  In  the  afternoon  it  cleared 
up  cool  and  bright,  then  I  entered  the  thick  wood  around 
the  base  of  the  mountain.  A  steep  and  rough  road  led  me 
to  the  summit,  and  on  the  esplanade  formed  there,  partly 
by  nature  and  partly  by  art,  was  the  mansion  house  and  its 
offices,  now  the  property  of  a  Dr.  Barclay.  The  first  thing 
that  strikes  you  is  the  utter  ruin  and  desolation  of  every 
thing.  The  house  is  of  brick,  in  the  same  wretched  style 
as  the  university,  with  a  portico  of  four  Doric  columns  on 
each  front  and  an  arcade  of  brick  at  the  extremities  of  the 
wings.  A  dome  surmounts  the  whole.  Here  again  the 
general  effect  is  good,  notwithstanding  the  bad  taste  of  the 
details.  The  owner  was  absent  and  I  could  not  obtain 
admittance,  but  was  shown  through  an  open  window  the 
room  in  which  Mr.  Jefferson  died.  The  internal  arrange 
ment,  so  far  as  I  could  judge  of  it  by  the  peeps  I  made  into 
peepable  places,  is  whimsical  and,  according  to  present 
notions  of  country  houses,  uncomfortable,  being  cut  up 
into  small  apartments.  On  this  subject  I  really  am  not 
competent  to  speak.  The  roofs  of  the  offices  are  on  a  line 


LAWN  OF  THE  WHITE  SULPHUR,  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS,  1832 
Painted  by  John  H.  K.  Lalrobe 


I    I  \»\  I    •  . 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  249 

with  the  floor  of  the  main  building,  extend  on  either  side  of 
it,  and  are  returned  to  the  southwest,  making  the  three 
sides  of  a  parallelogram.  They  are  flat  and  form  a  terraced 
walk.  The  northwest  angle  seems  to  have  been  a  favorite 
spot  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  It  is  completely  shaded  by  trees 
and  garden  chairs  are  permanently  fixed  there.  The  view 
from  it  is  magnificent.  You  look  across  the  valley  between 
the  southwest  mountain  and  the  Blue  Ridge,  until  the  high 
and  rolling  summits  of  the  latter  range  from  a  bold  horizon, 
extending  from  the  south  around  into  the  north.  Forests 
and  cultivation  are  here  mingled  in  goodly  proportion.  The 
University  of  Virginia  has  nestled  upon  the  little  eminence 
and  embowering  creeks,  and  nearer  the  Valley  of  Charlottes- 
ville,  which  is  a  pleasant  resting  place  for  the  eye  among 
the  wide  fields  which  surround  it.  Here  and  there  the 
Ravenna  glitters  in  the  landscape,  and  the  roar  of  the  stream 
over  the  dam  below  rises  up  gently  with  a  soothing  influence. 
Va,st  masses  of  clouds,  the  remnants  of  the  afternoon  gust, 
are  lying  about  the  sun,  and  take  those  hues  which  pen 
cannot  describe  nor  pencil  imitate,  and  which  few  but  us 
Americans  have  seen.  Long  shadows  are  stretching  them 
selves  further  and  further  towards  Monticello,  until  the 
disappearance  of  the  sun  behind  the  clouds  throws  one 
broad  veil  over  the  entire  landscape,  and  the  distant 
mountains  take  the  hue  of  deeper  purple.  Then  bursting 
forth  again  the  sun,  within  a  palm's  width  of  the  edge  of 
that  round,  isolated  hill,  casts  its  level  rays  eastward,  and 
the  points  of  all  the  intermediate  eminences  glitter  like 
diamonds  with  momentary  lustre  another  moment,  when 
the  broad  flood  of  mellow  light  westward  along  indicates 
that  the  sun  has  been  there,  and  almost  compensates  by 
its  beauty  for  the  sun's  departure.  Would  that  you  could 
see  Monticello  to  advantage  as  I  did,  and  watch  the  sun 


250  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

as  it  sets  behind  those  glorious  mountains.  Northward  and 
southward  from  the  Esplanade,  you  see  the  mountains  of 
this  particular  ridge,  and  eastward  your  eye  roams  over 
an  unlimited  and  rolling  forest,  save  where  to  the  northeast 
a  bit  of  cultivation  appears  along  the  base  of  the  Southwest 
mountain.  Take  it  all  in  all,  Monticello  is  a  spot  on  which 
one  might  well  be  contented  to  dwell  in  the  silence  and 
solitude  of  its  lofty  summit,  above  the  contentions  and 
meannesses  and  inconsistencies  of  his  fellow  men  and  gaze 
down  upon  this  world  which  they  inhabit,  having  his  mind 
elevated  by  its  glorious  perfection  to  his  Creator  and  Judge. 
The  old  philosopher  who  last  inhabited  it,  despite  his 
errors,  and  he  had  many  both  as  a  man  and  as  a  states 
man,  possessed  too  many  of  the  attributes  of  real  greatness, 
in  his  bold  conceptions  and  firm,  undeviating  purposes,  not 
to  be  worthy  of  this  noble  spot  which  he  had  selected  and 
improved;  and  when  his  spirit  took  its  flight  from  it,  there 
remained  a  halo  lingering  around  it,  which  has  made  it  a 
monument  to  his  memory.  As  such  I  visited  it,  and  as 
such  it  will  be  visited  until  the  history  of  America  shall 
cease  to  exercise  an  influence  upon  the  conduct  of  its  people. 
"I  certainly  did  not  expect  to  find  at  Monticello  anything 
which  would  give  rise  to  feeling,  wholly  personal  to  myself. 
Yet  so  it  was.  Singularly  enough  at  the  corner  of  the  terrace 
before  mentioned  and  overlooking  Charlottesville,  and  in 
the  centre  of  the  square  surrounded  by  the  garden  chairs, 
which  I  have  already  told  you  were  fixed  there,  I  saw  a 
pedestal,  deprived  of  that  which  the  iron  bolt  projecting 
from  its  centre  proved  to  have  once  belonged  there.  Not 
far  off,  however,  I  saw  the  capital  of  the  column,  somewhat 
mutilated,  which  had  been  thrown  or  fallen  down  from  the 
pedestal,  and  recognized  at  first  glance  a  capital  of  the  order 
of  architecture  invented  by  my  father  during  Mr.  Jefferson's 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  251 

administration,  in  which  the  place  usually  occupied  by 
Acanthus  leaves  of  the  Corinthian  columns  is  filled  by  ears 
of  corn,  grouped  together  with  due  regard  to  beauty  in 
their  proportions.  You  see  it  in  the  vestibule  of  the  North 
wing  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  You  may  not  perfectly 
understand  my  feelings,  and  may  smile  at  my  mentioning 
such  a  trifle.  But  to  think  that  this  spot,  visited  by  thou 
sands  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  contained  something  that 
recalled  my  parent's  genius,  caused  a  current  of  pleasant 
feeling  to  pass  through  my  bosom,  and  with  a  sort  of  filial 
reverence  I  moved  the  stone  from  the  wreck  of  the  garden 
chair  on  which  it  had  fallen  and  placed  it  upright.  I 
know  you  are  laughing  at  all  this,  but  truly  my  poor  father 
met  in  this  world  so  little  of  that  favor  of  reward  or  apprecia 
tion  that  much  inferior  qualities  have  won  for  other  men, 
that  I  treasure  up  after  his  death  anything  that  looks  like 
a  tribute  to  him,  however  trifling. 

"Before  I  left  Monticello  I  took  a  sketch  of  the  building 
looking  North,  which  I  will  show  you  upon  my  return." 

TRIP   TO   THE   VIRGINIA   SPRINGS,   WHITE   SULPHUR 

"August  1832. 

"As  we  descended  the  mountain  there  were  various  in 
dications  of  our  approach  to  the  center  of  attraction  in 
this  part  of  the  Union.  A  gay  barouche  drawn  by  prancing, 
foaming  horses,  and  filled  with  ladies,  and  followed  by 
gentlemen  on  horses,  dashed  by  us,  and  inquisitive  glances 
were  exchanged  with  the  stage  passengers,  with  parties 
looking  for  known  faces.  Then  came  a  single  cavalier, 
with  the  servant  in  livery,  then  a  carriage  and  four,  with 
curtains  drawn,  and  a  laughing  party  within.  Then  three 
or  four  sulkies  and  buggies,  then  the  more  staid  sober  hacks 
with  people  inside  looking  like  invalids.  And  as  the  stage 


252  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

rolled  nearer  and  nearer  were  groups  of  pedestrians,  then  the 
nurses  and  their  children,  and  all  this  in  the  dense,  thick 
forest.  Presently  a  few  open  and  well  cultivated  fields 
appeared,  and  then  the  scene  widened  a  little  and  cultiva 
tion  was  extended.  Columns  of  smoke  were  seen  to  rise 
over  the  crest  of  a  small  hill  that  the  road  crossed,  and  when 
the  summit  of  this  was  reached,  there  was  the  spot.  Cot 
tages  hidden  in  the  dark  green  foliage,  long  rows  of  white 
homes  of  all  descriptions  scattered  here  and  there,  and  as 
we  came  into  the  precincts,  there  on  the  right  was  the  as 
cending  lawn  of  the  freshest  verdure,  surrounded  with  its 
picturesque  cabins,  with  vehicles  of  all  sorts  under  its  trees. 
Gay  groups  laughing  and  enjoying  the  afternoon  were 
assembled  on  the  lawn.  Here  a  gay  party  of  equestrians 
careering  on  their  return  from  their  evening  ride,  here 
another  prancing  pell-mell,  here  were  fencers,  here  a  group 
starting  greyhounds  for  a  race,  here  a  number  of  serious 
smokers  on  one  side  by  themselves,  here  a  whole  bevy  of 
children  with  their  whoop  and  hallo.  Servants  were  hurry 
ing  to  and  fro.  The  quoit  was  flying  in  the  air,  and  the 
roll  of  the  nine  pin  alley  came  upon  the  ear  with  the  crash 
and  clatter  of  the  falling  skittles.  Over  all  the  sun,  now  al 
most  at  rest  for  the  day,  shot  his  softest  and  mellowest  beam. 

"'Is  there  room  for  a  single  gentleman?'  I  asked.  'Not 
today, '  replied  a  plain,  brown-faced  man  in  brown  clothes 
and  looking  all  the  time  in  a  brown  study.  'Are  you  Mr. 
Caldwell,  Sir?'  'No,  I  represent  him  though.'  'Then  you 
must  go  to  Lewisburg.'  'But,  my  dear  sir,  that  is  out  of  the 
question.  I  came  too  far  to  be  turned  away.'  'Can't  help 
it,  there  is  no  room,  you  had  better  keep  on  to  Lewisburg.' 

This  he  repeated  several  times,  in  response  to  my  urgent 
entreaties  that  I  be  given  some  place  in  which  to  spend  the 
night.  In  the  most  utter  despair  I  was  on  the  point  of 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  253 

getting  into  the  stage  again  to  go  to  Lewisburg,  nine  miles 
away,  when  I  saw  the  face  of  a  servant  I  had  known  in 
Baltimore,  and  on  inquiry  found  that  he  was  waiter  for 
Richard  Gill,  Eichelberger,  Campbell  and  Spear  Nicholas. 
I  now  ordered  .my  baggage  off  to  be  put  in  their  room,  and 
coaxed  the  man  in  brown  to  let  me  take  the  risk  of  being 
accommodated  by  my  friends.  They  were  all  out  except 
Campbell  who  made  me  welcome  and  gave  me  a  place  to 
put  a  bed  in,  if  I  could  get  one.  Reverdy  Johnson  and  his 
wife  were  here.  After  resting  and  renewing  my  acquaint 
ance  with  the  Johnsons,  I  went  in  search  of  a  bed,  and,  by 
dint  of  bribing  the  waiter  and  chambermaid,  I  got  two 
benches  and  a  miserable  pallet,  a  pillow  and  a  blanket. 
Sheets  and  a  pillow  case  were  out  of  the  question.  With  these 
I  was  forced  to  be  content  for  the  first  night,  with  the  assur 
ance  that  I  was  better  off  than  many  a  single  man  had  been 
for  three  weeks,  first,  because  I  had  gotten  in  at  all,  next, 
because  I  had  secured  such  admirable  accomodations  the 
first  night,  five  hundred  persons  having  been  turned  away 
recently  after  similar  dialogues  with  the  man  in  brown. 
After  tea,  in  our  cabin,  we  dressed  for  the  Ball,  and  it  was 
a  pleasant  and  merry  one. 

"I  found  Miss  Carlton,  Miss  Randolph,  Miss  Barbour, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Livingston,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson,  John 
Mercer  and  many  others  that  I  knew.  There  were  Miss 
Anna  May,  a  beautiful  girl  from  Petersburg,  and  her  sister, 
and  Miss  Maser  from  Richmond,  Cora  Livingston  and 
Barton,  Arthur  Middleton  with  whiskers  and  mustache 
and  check  suit  in  a  ball  room,  Mr.  Carlton  and  Governor 
Barbour,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clay,  and  Mr.  Standard  of  Rich 
mond,  and  a  dozen  others,  all  good,  clever  and  agreeable 
people  to  meet,  so  that  I  already  had  the  promise  of  much 
enjoyment  for  some  days. 


254  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"The  next  morning  when  I  got  up,  I  realized  the  fact 
that  I  was  nearly  eaten  alive  by  fleas;  never  was  human  flesh 
so  scarified.  They  had,  I  believe,  provided  me  with  a 
horse  blanket  to  sleep  under.  The  day  being  the  Sabbath, 
we  had  a  sermon  in  the  ball-room.  In  the  evening  Richard 
Gill  and  myself,  together  with  a  gay  party  of  fifteen  others, 
took  a  drive  in  Johnson's  barouche.  Monday  morning 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson,  Messrs.  Nicholas,  Campbell,  Eichel- 
berger  and  Gill  left  for  Salt  Sulphur  Springs,  and  I  was 
moved  to  a  cabin  in  Florida  Row. 

"I  saw  Mr.  Clay  a  number  of  times,  and  had  a  long 
conversation  with  him  on  several  subjects,  unconnected 
with  politics,  of  course.  He  is  certainly  the  most  pleasant 
man  I  ever  was  in  company  with,  and  I  willingly  confess 
myself  indebted  to  him  for  much  enjoyment. 

"  Mr.  Standard  of  Richmond,  a  lawyer  of  great  prominence 
is  a  person  it  has  given  me  great  pleasure  to  meet.  Dr. 
Greenhow,  the  secretary  of  Mr.  Livingston,  is  possessed 
of  more  varied  information  than  any  individual  I  ever  met 
with. 

WHITE   SULPHUR  SPRINGS 

"Let  us  take  a  walk  around  the  springs,  commencing 
at  our  left-hand.  The  building  that  is  within  the  enclosure 
is  the  gambler's  dwelling,  a  comfortable  cabin  neatly  fitted 
up,  and  the  small  framed  house  immediately  behind  it  is 
the  faro  room.  Those  remarkably  well  dressed,  genteel 
men  lounging  about  the  door  are  the  priests  of  the  temple 
of  fortune.  If  you  go  tonight  at  any  hour,  you  will  find 
many,  whom  you  would  not  suspect,  among  these  votaries. 
The  row  of  some  ten  or  twelve  cabins  is  called  'Fly  Row,' 
and  is  the  most  ancient  part  of  the  establishment. 

"Let  us  now  cross  the  base  of  the  steep  grassy  hill  and 


BALTIMORE  COTTAGES,  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS 
Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  255 

we  arrive  at  a  row  of  snug  brick  cabins,  the  best  part  of 
the  Springs  and  the  most  aristocratic.  The  wide  rail  before 
them  spoils  the  appearance  of  the  place,  but  tends  to  keep 
off  the  carriages  and  horses.  Arriving  at  the  end  of  this 
row,  we  turned  to  the  right  and  pass  down  a  row  of  frame  and 
log  cabins,  in  one  of  which  I  slept  on  the  first  night  of  my 
arrival.  Turning  again  to  the  right  and  walking  towards 
the  Springs,  we  passed  under  the  shade  of  some  noble 
trees,  and  in  front  of  the  prettiest  cabin  in  the  place  was 
an  improvised  ball  room,  over  which  were  sleeping  apart 
ments  and  a  modest  wing  on  each  side  of  it.  Thick  shade 
trees  surrounded  it,  and  a  merry  crowd  were  enjoying  the 
cool  spot  in  the  shade  afforded  by  the  trees.  Truly,  this 
is  a  lovely  spot,  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains,  but  the 
owner  is  not  as  energetic  as  he  might  be,  so  the  place  is 
susceptible  of  tenfold  improvement.  In  the  hands  of  the 
Yankees  it  might  and  would  become  a  veritable  paradise. 
The  same  money  that  is  being  used  now  could  be  expended 
in  furnishing  accommodations  for  everyone  who  desired  to 
stay  here,  and  a  little  management  would  soon  introduce 
order,  where  all  is  now  confusion.  Crowds  collect  around 
the  dining  room  when  the  bell  rings,  and  when  they  are 
opened  there  is  a  rush,  like  that  at  the  booth  at  a  contested 
election.  Every  man,  woman  and  child  rush  to  any  seat 
which  they  may  happen  to  find,  and  in  a  very  short  time  the 
food  upon  the  tables  disappears  consumed  by  the  hungry 
mob.  If  you  have  a  servant  of  your  own,  he  must  bribe  the 
cook.  If  you  have  no  servant,  you  must  bribe  one  of  those 
attached  to  the  place,  or  you  run  the  risk  of  getting  nothing. 
Bribery  furnishes  you  with  the  best  of  what  is  to  be  gotten 
in  the  place,  and  avoids  the  rushes  at  meal  time.  The 
day  after  I  arrived,  two  waiters  quarreled  over  an  apple 
pie;  one  floored  the  other  and  neither  got  the  pie,  which 


256  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

was  floored  in  the  scuffle — and  this  scene  took  place  while 
the  guests  were  seated  at  the  table.  Bribe  high  and  you 
live  high;  fail  to  bribe  and  you  starve;  look  sharp  and  eat 
fast,  you  forget  good  manners.  This  is  the  motto  of  the 
dining-room  of  the  White  Sulphur.  After  the  guests  have 
dined,  then  come  the  working  men  and  laborers  on  the  place. 
After  they  have  finished,  then  come  the  servants.  What 
ever  a  servant  provides  for  his  master  belongs  to  him  if  his 
master  does  not  eat  it.  This  method  quickens  the  activity 
and  attention  of  the  servants,  but  occasionally  they  battle 
amongst  themselves.  There  is  no  pretense  of  providing 
lodging  for  your  servants.  They  sleep  where  they  can,  for 
no  rooms,  beds  or  bed-clothing  can  be  procured  for  them. 
The  greater  number  of  the  cabins  are  comfortable  enough, 
and  many  of  them  are  private  property.  Single  persons 
face  the  worst  difficulty,  unless  they  bring  several  horses 
and  servants,  whose  pay  is  $4.00  a  week,  and  then  they  are 
given  decent  lodgings  and  meals,  and  all  fare  alike.  I  have 
seen  a  dozen  servants  slashing  away  at  a  saddle  of  mutton 
like  so  many  hounds  at  a  fox,  just  caught.  There  is  no 
one  to  command  and  no  one  responsible.  The  man  in 
brown  attempts  at  times  to  set  things  to  rights,  and  floors 
a  few  negroes,  but  there  is  no  use  in  it,  things  go  on  as  usual. 
I  for  my  part  bribe  high  and  live  well,  but  this  is  not  econom 
ical.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  White  Sulphur  is 
a  pleasant  place  to  live.  There  is  something  eminently 
aristocratic  about  the  place,  and  you  feel  that  you  are 
with  your  fellows  here,  more  than  at  any  other  place  of  its 
kind  in  Virginia,  quite  as  much  so  as  at  Saratoga  or  Ballston, 
and  I  hope,  all  things  considering,  to  pay  another  visit  one 
of  these  days. 

"Visits  are  paid  here  with  as  much  ceremony  as  in  a  city. 
If  the  cabin  door  is  open  the  ladies  are  at  home;  if  it  is 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  257 

shut  you  must  apply  for  admittance.  As  Mr.  Carlton 
told  me  when  he  asked  me  to  visit  him,  'Our  chambers, 
sir,  are  our  parlors,  and  our  beds  are  our  sofas,'  and  so  it 
is,  and  some  very  pleasant  visits  I  have  made. 

"I  have  heard  much  of  the  butcher  Charley,  as  he  is 
caDed,  and  made  his  acquaintance  today.  I  went  down  to 
a  field  beyond  the  creek  and  waited  in  the  woods  that  lined 
its  sides.  It  was  near  sun-down,  and  some  sixty  or  seventy 
sheep  and  six  or  seven  bullocks  were  in  the  field.  After  a 
short  time  Charlie  made  his  appearance  riding  on  a  horse 
behind  another  man.  He  got  down  near  the  edge  of  the 
field,  and  I  took  occasion  to  get  a  good  look  at  him.  He 
was  a  black  negro  about  forty-two  years,  of  medium  size, 
and  with  features  most  strongly  marked.  The  expression 
of  his  face  was  that  of  a  good  humored  tiger,  fierce  and  sav 
age,  but  with  a  look  of  sarcasm  and  wit.  His  eyes  were 
blood-shot  and  his  teeth  irregular,  and  when  he  spoke, 
his  huge  lips  brought  every  part  of  his  face  into  action. 
His  shirt  was  cut  low  in  the  neck  and  was  extremely  soiled 
and,  where  his  sleeves  were  rolled  up  at  the  elbows,  was 
red  with  blood.  A  black  handkerchief  was  twisted  around 
his  neck.  He  wore  pantaloons,  which  were  greasy  and 
stained  with  blood,  and  a  pair  of  heavy  shoes  without 
strings;  a  surcingle  of  a  horse  served  as  a  belt,  in  which  was 
stuck  a  knife  and  from  which  hung,  as  a  midshipman  wears 
a  dirk,  a  butcher's  steel.  On  his  head  was  an  old  leather 
cap,  and  he  carried  a  rifle  on  his  shoulder.  This  was 
Charley,  the  butcher  of  White  Sulphur.  While  loading 
his  rifle  he  entered  into  conversation  with  us,  and  exhibited 
a  shrewdness  which  one  would  not  have  expected.  There 
was  much  humor  hi  his  remarks,  and  he  spoke  with  an  air 
and  tone,  which  showed  that  he  considered  himself  superior 
to  any  human  being.  I  wish  I  could  recollect  some  of 


258  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

his  slang,  which  was  characteristic,  wild  and  coarse  as  it 
was.  He  leaped  over  the  fence,  and,  while  he  kept  along 
the  cover  which  it  gave  in  case  the  bullocks  became  enraged, 
walked  up  on  the  open  field  and  pointed  to  the  spot  in 
the  forehead  which  he  intended  hitting.  He  got  within 
sixty  or  seventy  paces  of  the  animals  when  he  stopped, 
raised  his  rifle  with  perfect  ease,  steadied  it  for  a  moment 
and  fired,  and  the  beast  dropped  dead  without  a  struggle. 
'I  told  you  so,'  he  said  as  he  cut  the  throat,  'I'd  have  hit 
him  in  the  center,  but  he  turned  his  head  a  little,  and  I 
had  to  give  it  to  him  an  inch  to  the  right.'  In  less  than 
half  an  hour  the  whole  thing  was  done,  and  the  meat  skinned 
cleaned  and  cut  up  on  its  way  to  the  shop.  Charley  picked 
out  six  sheep  from  the  flock,  shooting  them  all  in  the  head, 
and  hitting  to  a  hair-breath  the  spot  where  he  said  he  would. 
I  have  seen  much  good  shooting  in  my  time,  but  this  fellow 
is  the  best  shot  I  have  ever  seen.  Were  I  a  novelist,  he 
would  be  invaluable  to  me.  If  you  want  delicacies,  go  to 
Charley  and  tell  him  so  and  bribe  him;  he  will  stalk  into 
the  kitchen  among  the  waiters,  and  it  is  then  that  you  see 
that  you  have  applied  to  one  all-powerful,  for  the  things 
are  heaped  upon  your  plate.  The  pastry-cook,  a  sturdy 
little  Englishman,  is  the  only  one  who  can  hold  him  at  de 
fiance.  If  you  are  fond  of  studying  human  nature  in 
queer  shapes,  look  up  Charley  if  you  should  visit  the  White 
Sulphur  Springs. 

"  I  saw  here  for  the  first  time  a  hail  storm  so  called,  that 
is  to  say,  a  mint  julep  made  with  a  hail  storm  around  it. 
The  drink  is  manufactured  pretty  much  as  usual  and  well 
filled  with  a  quantity  of  ice  chopped  in  small  pieces,  which 
is  then  put  in  shape  of  a  fillet  around  the  outside  of  the 
tumbler  where  it  adheres  like  a  ring  of  rock  candy,  and 
forms  an  external  icy  application  to  your  lower  lip  as  you 


DINING  ROOM,  STAGE  OFFICE,  ETC.,   AT  THE  WHITE  SULPHUR, 

FROM  THE  NEW  ORLEANS  HOUSE,  1832 

Painted  by  John  H.  5.  Latrobe 


a\v\  TK 

AO 


i»l 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  259 

drink  it,  while  the  ice  within  the  glass  presses  against  your 
upper  lip.  It  is  nectar,  they  say,  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
"And  now,  adieu  to  the  White  Sulphur,  of  which  I  have 
endeavored  to  draw  a  faithful  portraiture.  The  purity  of 
its  atmosphere,  the  beauty  of  its  location,  and  the  charms 
of  its  society  detained  me,  its  guest,  despite  the  annoy 
ances  I  encountered  and  have  attempted  to  describe. " 


CHAPTER  X 

MR.   LATROBE'S  MARRIAGE  TO  Miss  CLAIBORNE — SHORT 

ACCOUNT  or  HER  FAMILY — THE  "  CLAIBORNE 

REBELLION" 

Miss  Charlotte  Virginia  Claiborne,  second  wife  of  Mr. 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  was  the  daughter  of  General  Ferdinand 
Leigh  Claiborne.  Her  father  died  some  years  before  Mr. 
Latrobe  met  her.  She  resided  in  a  homestead  known  as 
"Soldier's  Retreat,"  a  few  miles  from  Natchez,  Miss.  Mr. 
Latrobe  met  Miss  Claiborne  in  Virginia  in  the  year  1832, 
and  became  engaged  to  her  after  a  short  courtship. 

Miss  Claiborne  having  returned  home  to  prepare  for  her 
wedding,  Mr.  Latrobe  soon  followed.  Leaving  Baltimore 
about  the  1st  of  November,  he  arrived  in  Natchez  on  the 
27th.  The  wedding  took  place  on  December  6, 1832.  While 
the  courtship  was  short — in  fact  Mr.  Latrobe  knew  Miss 
Claiborne  a  little  less  than  six  months  before  their  marriage — 
there  is  every  evidence  that  the  union  was  a  most  happy  one. 
Miss  Claiborne  was  only  seventeen  when  they  were  married, 
and  Mr.  Latrobe  twenty-nine. 

It  was  my  custom  to  call  daily  at  his  office  during  the 
last  years  of  his  life,  and  one  morning,  when  I  called,  I 
found  him  busily  writing.  He  was  then  eighty-three.  I 
asked  him  what  he  was  writing,  and  he  said  he  was  writing 
some  verses  to  his  wife.  It  was  her  seventy-first  birthday; 
and  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  this  for  many  years. 
I  cannot  find  among  his  papers  a  copy  of  the  verses  that  I 
saw  that  morning,  but  I  was  so  struck  with  the  character 

260 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  261 

of  a  man  who  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  continued  to  address 
verses  to  his  wife  of  seventy-one,  that  I  made  a  note  of  what 
he  had  written.  I  reproduce  them  here: 

When  seventeen  summers  only 

Thy  youthful  charms  supplied, 
I  wooed  and  won  thee,  dearest, 

To  be  my  beauteous  bride. 
Reversing  now  the  numbers, 

As  stand  they  side  by  side, 
They  tell  of  years  departed, 

Of  thee,  my  cherished  bride. 

And  what  though  four  and  fifty 

Of  these  our  love  have  tried, 
There  has  nought  come  to  sever 

The  bridegroom  from  the  bride. 
But  lingering,  where  fast  ebbing 

Is  life's  receding  tide, 
Still  hand  in  hand  together  walk 

The  bridegroom  and  the  bride. 

In  this  connection  when  he  fears  that  the  muse  may  not 
answer  to  his  call  he  writes: 

To  MY  WIFE 

Dearest,  if,  when  thy  birthday  came, 

My  verses  ceased  to  hail  the  hour, 
'Twas  not  because  my  love  was  tame, 

Or  thou  hadst  lost  thy  wonted  power. 
But  Time,  although  he  leaves  the  heart 

Unscathed,  amid  his  changing  weathers, 
Through  storm  and  sunshine,  plays  his  part 

In  clipping  short  the  muse's  feathers. 

Then,  dearest,  if  no  flowing  lines 

Greet  now,  as  erst,  thy  natal  day, 
Remember  that  Golconda's  mines 

May  hold  the  gem,  yet  hide  the  ray. 


262  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

So  Love,  though  silent,  may  be  deep 

As  ever  woke  the  Poet's  numbers; 
And  vigil  true,  untired,  may  keep, 

Although  the  muse  beside  it  slumbers. 

1860. 

The  only  record  that  I  can  find  of  his  second  courtship 
is  in  several  letters  which  he  wrote  to  his  intimate  friend 
at  that  time,  Charles  Carroll  Harper,  from  Botetourt 
Springs,  Va.  On  August  25th  he  wrote : 

"Moss  and  myself  agreed  to  follow  the  Claibornes  to 
this  place,  on  our  way  to  Natural  Bridge,  and  here  we  are 
today.  Miss  Claiborne's  pretty  face  and  figure  and  pleasing 
manners,  to  say  nothing  of  her  cousin,  Mrs.  C.,  formerly  a 
Miss  Kershaw,  of  Carolina,  may  keep  us  some  days  out  of 
our  course.  By  the  bye,  I  wish  Miss  Claiborne  did  not 
live  in  Mississippi;  out  of  the  way  for  a  morning  call." 

Under  date  of  August  27th  we  find: 

"We  have  a  party  arranged  tomorrow,  if  the  weather  is 
fair,  to  visit  the  summit  of  Tinker  Mountain,  when  I  hope 
to  aid  the  footsteps  of  the  fair  Miss  Claiborne,  who  is,  as 
I  have  hinted  before,  very  pretty,  very  sensible  and  very  un 
sophisticated,  and  but  for  whom  neither  Moss  nor  I  would 
have  come  so  far  South  perhaps. " 

A  later  letter  shows  that  he  became  engaged  to  Miss 
Claiborne  on  this  memorable  walk  which  occurred  on  the 
28th  of  August,  1832.  Their  first  meeting  was  on  August 
10th. 

In  another  letter  written  from  Natural  Bridge,  Virginia, 
on  August  30th,  we  read: 

"My  last  letter  was  from  Botetourt  Springs,  where  I 
had  gone  upon  a  trip  to  see  the  country  and  some  of  the 
results  of  my  visit  to  which  I  am  now  inclined  to  think  I 
am  in  a  fair  way  to  remember  very  pleasantly  during  the 


JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE  WITH  THE  CLAIBORNE  FAMILY 

AT  BOTETOURT  SPRINGS,  VIRGINIA 

Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  (1832) 


.s.  :a 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  263 

rest  of  my  life.  In  truth,  Charles,  you  will  wonder  and  smile, 
too,  at  the  narration  of  the  last  ten  days,  when  I  come  to 
unfold  to  you  that  part  of  it  (the  only  part  I  have  with 
held)  which  is  not  connected  with  the  roads,  the  people 
and  the  natural  features  of  the  country.  This  letter  will 
get  to  you  in  so  short  a  time  before  I  arrive  myself,  that 
any  curiosity  that  I  may  excite  will  not  be  long  before  it  is 
gratified. " 

Another  extract: 

"At  Botetourt  the  Tinker  Mountains  terminate  in  front 
of  the  house.  I  have  a  sketch  of  the  place  to  show  you  in 
my  sketch  book.  A  pleasant  walk,  which  I  shall  long 
remember  as  connected  strangely  enough  with  my  future 
destiny,  was  one  to  a  graveyard,  romantically  situated  on 
the  wooded  brow  of  the  little  knoll." 

BOTETOURT  SPRINGS,  1832 
[From  Mr.  Latrobe's  notebook.] 

"They  are  in  the  great  valley  of  Virginia.  The  quality 
of  the  water  is  the  same  as  the  White  Sulphur  water,  al 
though  in  a  lesser  degree.  The  arrangements  of  the  establish 
ments  are  on  the  same  cabin  system,  and  are  made  with  much 
taste  and  judgment  by  the  proprietor,  Mr.  Johnson,  whose 
fortunes  are  reduced  to  his  present  occupation,  without 
his  feeling  or  habits  being  altered  with  his  circumstances. 
He  still  sits  at  the  head  of  his  long  table,  with  an  air,  and 
his  daughter  occupies  the  foot.  The  conduct  of  the  guests 
here  is  corresponding,  and  there  is  more  general  politeness 
here  than  is  to  be  met  with  often  at  these  Virginia  watering 
places.  Johnson  was  once  made  captive  by  the  Indians, 
and  you  have  doubtless  seen  or  heard  a  narrative  of  his 
sufferings,  which  he  published  some  years  ago.  The  place 
is  pretty.  The  country  around  is  open,  and  the  mountains 


264  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

that  rise  in  all  directions  do  not  press  upon  you  so  closely 
as  other  places  I  have  visited  in  Virginia. 

Again  he  writes  from  Franktown,  September  1,  1832: 

"Something  which  I  have  reserved  for  conversation  will 
make  you  even  more  a  hearer  than  you  have  been  a  reader 
of  my  concerns." 

Mr.  Latrobe,  as  I  have  already  stated,  started  about 
November  1st  for  Natchez,  intending  to  make  Miss 
Claiborne  his  wife  when  he  reached  there.  He  had  reason 
to  object  to  the  fact  that  she  lived  in  Mississippi,  and  that 
it  was  an  out  of  the  way  place  for  a  morning  call.  In  looking 
•over  the  records  of  his  trip  there,  we  find  that  he  reached 
Natchez  on  the  27th  of  November,  which  was  about  four 
weeks  from  the  time  he  left  Baltimore.  There  was  a  rest  at 
Nashville  of  some  three  days,  but  during  the  rest  of  the  time 
he  was  traveling  night  and  day  on  the  stage  coach.  At  Nash 
ville  he  happened  to  overtake  the  Claiborne  party  on  their 
return  home.  He  had  with  him  his  valet,  James  Wilson 
a  colored  man,  who,  when  I  went  into  Mr.  Latrobe's  office 
in  1876,  was  still  with  him,  a  venerable  negro,  with  his  wool 
as  white  as  snow  and  with  all  the  manners  of  a  cultivated 
old  fashioned  gentleman.  James  lived  for  some  years 
after,  having  been  with  Mr.  Latrobe  since  1824. 

It  was  no  easy  thing  in  those  days  to  go  and  see  your 
sweetheart,  if  you  lived  in  Baltimore  and  she  lived  in  Mis 
sissippi. 

On  his  journey  from  Baltimore  to  Natchez,  Mr.  Latrobe 
writes  from  Charlottesville,  Virginia,  as  follows: 

"After  reaching  Charlottesville,  I  passed  through  the 
country  which  I  had  seen  in  mid-summer.  It  is  now,  in 
November,  dressed  in  motley — yellow  is  the  prevailing  hue. 
Two  weeks  ago  the  forest  was  in  its  glory,  but  even  now 
there  are  some  strong  and  novel  contrasts — the  pine  with 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  265 

its  bright  green,  the  dogwood  with  her  flaming  covering 
of  scarlet,  the  hickory  with  its  rich  orange,  and  the  maple  the 
harlequin  among  trees.  It  is  Indian  summer.  There  are 
great  multitudes  of  wild  pigeons.  Constant  firing  shows 
that  the  gunners  are  at  work,  and  the  vast  pigeon  pie  at 
the  Inn  yielded  up  some  of  the  results  of  the  prowess.* 
On  our  trip  we  stopped  at  the  little  village  of  Lovingston. 
Here  I  visited  the  County  Court  House.  The  doors  were 
wide  open.  The  temple  of  Justice  had  little  to  boast  of  in 
architectural  beauty.  The  Court  Room  was  small.  A 
rostrum  elevated  a  few  feet  with  a  large  arm  chair  on  it 
and  a  bench  on  either  side,  was  intended  for  the  Judges,  and 
upon  the  white  wall  over  the  Cathedra  there  was  emblazoned 
the  coat  of  arms  of  the  United  States.  The  eagle,  which 
was,  no  doubt,  copied  from  the  impression  upon  a  half 
dollar,  had  his  neck  forced  out  of  all  proportions,  that  there 
might  be  suspended  from  his  beak  a  blue  ribbon  on  which 
was  written  the  words  'fiat  justicia. '  Opposite  the  Judge's 
seat  was  a  gallery,  and  in  the  front  of  it  were  painted  the 
words  'Vertus — Keep  God's  Commandments — Veritas.' 
The  jury  rooms  were  little  bits  of  apartments  with  seats, 
and  no  juryman,  I  swear,  could  ever  remain  in  them  for 
the  comfort  of  the  seat  he  enjoyed  there.  This  is  a  pretty 
fair  sample  of  a  Virginia  Court  House. 

"The  selection  of  the  Eagle  as  our  National  emblem  is, 
considering  his  character,  rather  unfortunate.  He  is  a 
notorious  robber.  Erasmus  thus  describes  him:  'Of  all 
the  birds  the  eagle  alone  has  seemed  to  wise  men  the  type 
of  Royalty,  a  bird  neither  musical  nor  beautiful  nor  good 
for  food,  but  mischievious,  greedy,  hateful  to  all,  the  curse 
of  all,  and  with  its  great  powers  of  doing  harm  only  sur- 

*(So  effective  was  the  slaughter  that  at  this  date — 1917 — not  one  wild  pigeon 
is  left  of  the  vast  flocks  of  those  days.) 


266  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

passed  by  its  desire  to  do  it.'  Yet  this  great  Republic 
has  selected  this  emblem  of  Royalty,  with  such  a  character 
to  represent  it. 

"We  stopped  to  dine  at  New  Glasgow,  a  neat  little  village, 
pleasantly  situated  in  a  fine  country,  but  exhibiting  a  full 
share  of  negro  children  and  broken  window  panes.  We 
reached  Lynchburg.  It  is  on  the  wane.  The  streets  show 
spears  of  grass.  The  houses  want  paint;  loungers  are  every 
where;  there  is  a  multiplication  of  dram  shops,  and  a  pecu 
liar  look  about  every  man,  woman  and  child  you  meet, 
indications  of  municipal  decrepitude.  Unfortunately  Lynch 
burg  is  not  the  only  place  in  Virginia  where  this  is  visible. 
Speaking  of  the  valley  of  the  Holstein  River,  the  inhabit 
ants  of  this  section  of  the  country  are  chiefly  Germans  or 
their  descendants,  and  in  consequence  the  agriculture  of 
the  country  presents  a  very  different  appearance  from  that 
I  have  been  accustomed  to  see.  The  travel  was  day  and 
night  through  rain  and  snow.  When  Tennessee  was  reached, 
the  post  coaches  were  exchanged  for  Jersey  wagons,  but 
strung  upon  leather  springs,  a  most  uncomfortable  vehicle, 
driving  sometimes  at  break  neck  speed. 

"Knoxville,  the  chief  city  of  East  Tennessee,  is  built 
upon  a  bluff.  It  has  a  striking  and  somewhat  singular 
appearance.  Cholera  was  the  subject  of  conversation,  as 
it  swept  across  the  land.  The  food  as  a  general  thing  was 
wretched,  well  described  as  gastronomic  incompatibilities. 
Nashville,  too,  is  described  as  being  extremely  handsome, 
with  very  handsome  private  residences,  and  comparing 
well  with  any  city  in  the  Union. " 

The  following  is  a  description  of  one  of  the  places  at  which 
the  stage  stopped: 

"About  three  o'clock,  after  a  very  steep  descent  to  a  rapid 
and  angry  looking  stream,  and  an  equally  steep  and  narrow 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  267 

and  dangerous  ascent  on  the  other  side,  we  reached  the 
'dinner  house,'  as  it  was  called,  and  saw  for  the  first  time 
some  specimen  of  the  accommodations  and  fare  that  we  were 
to  expect  as  we  advanced  still  further  into  the  bowels  of 
the  land.  Two  log  houses  of  perhaps  sixteen  feet  square 
had  been  built  about  twelve  feet  apart,  and  the  same  roof 
covered  both  and  also  the  space  between  them,  which  last 
was  thus  converted  into  a  sort  of  porch  to  both  houses. 
A  door  from  each  opened  upon  it,  and  there  was  also  a  door 
to  each  opening  to  the  South.  Windows  there  were  none. 
To  obtain  light  you  were  obliged  necessarily  to  sit  with  the 
doors  open.  When  the  meal  was  prepared,  the  mistress  of 
the  house  sat  with  her  chair  on  the  hearth  and  her  back 
to  the  fire;  and  on  a  cold  day,  a  day  like  that  which  met  us 
at  the  house  I  am  describing,  the  guests  faced  themselves 
as  well  as  they  could  to  obtain  a  glimpse  of  the  blaze  in 
the  chimney.  The  floor  was  seamed  with  open  cracks 
through  which  you  saw  the  ground  beneath,  and  between 
every  log  composing  the  walls  you  caught  glimpses  of  day 
light,  notwithstanding  the  attempts  that  had  been  made  to 
tighten  them  by  nailing  clapboards  against  them.  Clap 
boards,  it  may  be  stated,  are  boards  obtained  by  splitting, 
like  rough  staves,  but  wider.  The  chimney  was  of  wood, 
the  fire  place  being  protected  by  coats  of  mud,  which  article 
was  also  supplied  very  freely  up  the  flue.  The  doors 
deserved  the  name  of  gates,  so  open  was  their  construction, 
and  you  stepped  from  them  into  a  yard  where  pigs  and 
cows  were  your  immediate  companions. " 

It  might  be  noted  here  that  the  cost  of  the  trip  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that,  when  they  were  four  or  five  days  from  the 
end  of  their  journey,  the  party  of  seven,  consisting  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Claiborne,  Miss  Claiborne  and  maid,  Mr.  Latrobe, 
the  cook,  and  a  Major  Dooley  (Mr.  Latrobe  had  sent  his 
valet  ahead),  had  spent  $350.00— $50  apiece. 


268  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Between  Tuscumbia  and  Columbia,  Miss.,  there  was  an 
accident  to  the  carriage,  which  broke  down. 

"I,  on  the  back  seat,  was  undermost  in  the  fall,  and 
received  the  weight  of  Miss  Claiborne  and  Mrs.  Claiborne. 
Mr.  Claiborne,  on  the  middle  seat,  fell  under  cook  and 
Aimey,  the  two  servants,  and  the  driver  fell  on  Major 
Dooley,  who  sat  on  his  left  hand.  Mr.  Claiborne's  shoulder 
was  dislocated,  but  quickly  reset  by  an  active  effort  of 
his  own.  It  was  dreadfully  bruised,  however.  Major 
Dooley's  left  arm  and  leg  were  seriously  cut.  Mrs.  Clai 
borne  had  a  severe  cut  on  her  forehead.  Miss  Claiborne's 
left  hand  was  sprained  and  her  side  much  hurt.  Aimey 
was  shaken  and  bruised,  and  I  was  pretty  much  in  the  same 
condition.  The  driver  was  but  little  injured,  and  cook 
escaped  unhurt." 

The  custom  of  bleeding  for  nearly  every  ill,  that  was  so 
prevalent  in  the  early  days,  is  well  illustrated  in  the  cure 
attempted  for  these  injuries. 

"  Cook  was  at  first  too  much  astonished  to  know  that 
he  was  unhurt,  but  as  soon  as  that  fact  was  ascertained, 
he  was  set  to  work  to  bleed  Mr.  Claiborne  who,  with  his 
wife  and  cook,  formed  a  group  under  one  tree.  Under 
another  sat  Miss  Claiborne,  quite  bewildered,  with  her 
maid  Aimey  crying.  Poor  old  Dooley  was  on  a  stump  in 
great  pain,  and  Steen,  the  driver,  and  myself  were  looking 
in  consternation  at  the  wreck  of  the  stage 

"This  was  the  place  which  our  party  now  entered  with 
gratitude  and  thanks  that  even  such  an  asylum  was  at  hand. 
As  we  got  out  of  the  wreck  at  the  stable  three  or  four  white 
men,  looking  but  one  degree  removed  from  barbarism,  col 
lected  around  us  in  silent  curiosity  and  were  joined  by  the 
Indians  who  came  forth  from  the  house  at  our  approach, 
so  that  quite  a  procession  was  formed  of  which  we  were 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  269 

the  principals.  You  must  imagine,  for  I  cannot  describe, 
the  looks  of  the  ladies,  as  they  cast  their  eyes  around  what 
we  subsequently  designated  as  the  drawing  room,  and  saw 
its  utter  destitution  of  every  comfort.  The  weather  was 
changing,  too,  at  the  time  and  very  heavy  clouds  threatened 
to  deluge  us  with  rain  in  a  short  while. 

"But  there  was  no  alternative;  the  baggage  was  brought 
up  from  the  stables,  and  the  first  thing  done  was  to  bleed  the 
maid  Aimey,  who  was  groaning  with  pain,  and  to  attempt 
to  bleed  Miss  Claiborne,  who  complained  much  of  the  injury 
that  had  been  done  to  her  side.  This  last  we  found  im 
practicable  with  the  skill  of  cook.  While  he  was  endeavor 
ing  to  find  the  vein,  I  supported  her,  and  ripped  up  the 
sleeves  of  her  dress  one  after  the  other  in  hopes  that  the 
pulsation  might  be  stronger  in  one  arm  than  the  other. 
Aimey  was  too  sick  to  be  useful;  Mr.  Claiborne  was  lying 
on  one  of  the  beds  in  great  pain  and  his  wife  was  attending 
to  hmi.  The  Indian  hostess  was  busy  elsewhere,  so  that 
the  negro  servant  and  myself  were  doctor,  surgeon,  nurse 
and  apothecary  to  Miss  C.  While  her  bare  arm  was  ex 
posed,  the  white  men  that  I  have  mentioned  came  into  the 
hut  and  stood  with  rude  intensiveness,  watching  every 
thing  that  was  going  forward.  I  could  not  stand  this  and 
ordered  them  peremptorily  out;  and  they  walked  away, 
laughing  at  the  whole  of  us.  As  to  delicacy  they  knew 
not  what  it  was.  Finding  it  impossible  to  bleed  Miss  C., 
it  occurred  to  me  that  fever  might  be  prevented  by  medicine, 
so  I  got  out  my  Seidlitz  Powders,  and  under  the  appellation 
of  'Cooling  Draughts'  (she  knew  no  better)  administered 
two  of  them.  Neither  Mr.  C.  nor  Aimey,  who  were  bled, 
nor  Charlotte  who  took  the  medicine,  had  fever,  so  I  am  sat 
isfied  with  the  equal  efficacy  of  the  two  modes  of  depletion. " 

In  Mr.  Latrobe's  journal  we  find  the  following  in  refer 
ence  to  his  second  marriage: 


270  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"The  year  1832  was  the  year  of  the  Cholera,  and  when 
the  August  holidays  came  I  hesitated  in  what  direction 
to  seek  the  summer  vacation,  which  the  work  of  the  year 
made  agreeable,  if  not  essential.  Accident  settled  the 
question,  and  I  went  to  the  White  Sulphur  Springs.  At 
the  Springs  I  met  my  present  wife,  the  handsomest  woman 
there  and  the  most  admired.  I  followed  her  to  Botetourt 
Springs,  and  at  the  end  of  a  courtship  of  less  than  a  week 
was  engaged  to  be  married  to  her.  This  was  in  August. 
I  ran  a  great  risk,  most  people  would  say;  so  I  did,  but  I 
drew  a  prize,  for  a  better  wife  never  man  had.  I  could 
fill  a  sheet  or  two  with  honest  heart-felt  eulogy,  but  my 
children  know  their  mother  too  well  to  need  my  praise  to 
satisfy  them  with  her  worth.  She  went  to  Mississippi  to 
her  mother,  and  I  returned  to  Baltimore  to  communicate 
the  information  to  mine.  And  then  to  follow  Miss  Clai- 
borne  to  her  home,  and  marry  her. 

"On  the  first  of  November  I  set  out  on  my  long  journey 
by  stage  coach  from  Baltimore  to  Natchez,  passing  through 
Washington,  Lynchburg,  Knoxville,  Nashville,  and  the 
Indian  Nation.  At  Nashville  I  overtook  Miss  Claiborne, 
who  was  traveling  home  inland,  having  been  driven  by  the 
Cholera  from  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  She  was  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jas.  H.  Claiborne,  and  we  made 
a  party  and  completed  the  journey  together.  Had  an 
upset  and  other  adventures  on  the  road,  but  got  through 
safely.  On  the  6th  of  December  1832  we  were  married 
at  'Soldier's  Retreat,'  my  brother-in-law's  plantation,  and 
on  the  13th  we  set  out  for  home,  mine  and  now  hers.  On 
the  7th  of  January  1833  we  reached  Baltimore  and  I  returned 
to  my  office  after  an  absence  of  two  months  and  seven  days. 

"The  Lady  Franklin,  a  steamboat  well  spoken  of,  was 
recommended  to  me  and  I  kept  a  good  look  out  for  her. 


WESTERN  BLOCK  HOUSE,  FORT  ARMSTRONG 
On  the  Mississippi  River,  drawn  by  John  U.  B.  Latrobe 


,ad\3o\\  ^ 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  271 

It  arrived  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  and  I  embarked 
with  Charlotte  and  our  two  servants,  Aimey  and  James- 
The  steamboat  stops  to  wood  twice  a  day,  in  the  morning 
and  in  the  evening,  and  several  times  we  wooded  after 
dark.  The  scene  then  presented  was  singular  and  striking. 
The  huge  fire  at  the  woodyard,  built  to  guide  the  laborer, 
as  well  as  to  serve  as  a  sign  by  night  to  passing  boats; 
the  steamboat  with  its  many  lamps  and  candles  shining 
through  the  windows,  and  the  blaze  and  heat  from  its 
open  furnace;  the  deck  passengers  in  their  various  colored 
costumes  and  the  sailors  hurrying  to  and  fro  on  the  plank 
from  the  boat  to  the  shore  and  carrying  their  burdens  of 
wood;  and  behind  all  on  one  side  a  dense,  black  forest, 
and  on  the  other  the  wide  and  noble  river  reflecting  every 
light  as  it  whirls  along. 

"There  are  two  descriptions  of  passengers  on  a  boat  on 
the  Mississippi — deck  passengers  and  cabin  passengers. 
The  former  are  generally  flat-boatmen  on  their  return 
home,  and  nothing  more  is  provided  for  them  on  board 
than  the  conveyance  and  a  shelter  from  the  rain — some 
times  the  book-shelf  hammock  (hammocks  suspended  three 
deep,  one  over  the  other  like  hanging  book  shelves).  They 
pay  $7.00  from  New  Orleans  to  Louisville,  finding  them 
selves  in  everything,  $5.00  if  they  assist  in  wooding  the 
boat  when  it  stops  for  that  purpose.  The  transportation 
of  them  is  clear  profit. 

"One  of  the  handsomest  men  I  ever  saw  in  my  life,  the 
very  perfection  of  manly  beauty,  was  one  of  our  passengers. 
He  was  a  Kentuckian,  of  about  twenty-nine  or  thirty  years 
of  age,  who  also  'belonged  to  the  river'  occasionally  and 
was  returning  home  from  a  trip  with  a  kit  to  New  Orleans. 
He  was  dressed  in  blue  worsted  homespun,  with  a  black 
ribbon  around  his  neck  instead  of  a  cravat,  and  wore  a 


272  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

white  hat  the  rim  of  which  had  been  bent  in  every  direction 
by  the  rain  and  its  usage,  and  the  front  of  which  was  turned 
up,  which  gave  a  bold  expression  to  his  good  humored 
features. 

"From  one  of  the  passengers  from  St.  Louis,  where  he 
had  resided  while  it  was  yet  a  French  town,  I  heard  a  very 
amusing  story.  'Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  King  Ball?'  he 
said  to  me  one  evening,  as  we  sat  before  the  cabin  fire 
together.  'No,'  I  replied,  'What  is  it?'  'It  is  a  thing  that 
may  cost  a  gentleman  $400.00.  When  I  was  at  St.  Louis, 

J asked  me  if  I  would  go  with  him  to  a  King  Ball  at 

old  S 's,  the  Governor's  interpreter  for  the  Indians 

who  were  then  in  the  neighborhood  in  great  numbers. 
'Yes,'  I  said,  'what's  to  pay?'  'Oh !  nothing,  it's  a  King  Ball, 
costs  nothing,  so  come  along.'  And  down  I  went  with  him. 
The  house  was  large  and  the  rooms  brilliantly  lighted. 
The  beauty  and  fashion  of  St.  Louis  were  there,  and  in  a 
little  while  I  was  perfectly  at  home  and  amused  myself 
amazingly.  In  a  pause  in  the  dancing,  a  young  girl,  very 
beautiful  and  as  graceful  and  dignified  as  you  can  imagine, 
came  up  to  me  and,  with  a  bow,  pinned  a  favor  on  my  coat. 
I  bowed  and  bowed  without  knowing  what  to  say  or  do, 
when  suddenly  shouts  of  Vive  le  roi  resounded  in  the  room. 

Old  S was  at  my  side.    'You  are  de  King,  Monsieur,' 

he  said.  'Well,  what  then?'  I  answered.  'You  must  lead 
de  queen  to  de  trone,  Monsieur.'  'Eh  bien!'  said  I;  and  I  led 
the  lady  to  a  small  elevation  at  the  upper  end  of  the  room. 
She  stepped  on  it  and  remained  standing.  Again  old 
S—  -  whispered  'You  must  salute.  Dat  is,  kiss  de  queen, 
Monsieur.'  'Eh  bien!'  said  I,  and  I  kissed  the  prettiest 
little  pair  of  ready  and  ruby  lips  I  ever  touched,  and  in 

return  my  queen  handed  me  a  bow  of  ribbon.     Old  S 

again  prompted  me.     'You  must  make  de  queen  her  favor, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  273 

Monsieur.'  'Eh  bien!'  said  I;  and  I  pinned  the  favor  on 
the  dress  of  my  pretty  companion.  She  made  me  king, 
and  the  least  I  could  do  was  to  make  her  queen.  And  then 

the  company  shouted  'Vive  la  reine';  and  again  old  S 

whispered,  'Salute  de  queen,  Monsieur;'  and  again  I  saluted 
her.  The  dance  was  then  resumed,  and  we  broke  up  a  little 
while  before  dawn,  after  a  merry  night. 

'The  meaning  of  my  coronation  was  now  explained  to  me. 

Old  S informed  me  that,  in  the  first  place,  I  must 

provide  for  the  next  ball,  which  he  would  undertake  to 
direct,  but  which  I  must  pay  for;  and,  in  the  second  place, 
I  must  dress  the  queen  for  the  occasion  from  top  to  toe — 
chemise,  jupe,  etc.,  were  all  to  be  paid  for  by  me,  and  Mme. 
M.  would  attend  to  all  that  if  I  gave  her  the  order  to  do- 
the  needful.  So  I  gave  the  order  and  the  ball  was  given, 
and  in  revenge  I  put  the  Kingship  on  the  friend  who  got 
me  into  the  scrape.  The  last  act  of  the  play  was  to  pay 
$400.00  for  cakes,  coffee,  chemise,  jupe,  etc.;  and  this  is 
a  King's  Ball,  or  was  rather — for  when  the  Yankees  got 
among  the  French  at  St.  Louis,  they  could  not  stand  the 
cost  and  broke  the  pastime  up  all  together.' 

"You  can  see  by  referring  to  the  map  the  States  along 
which  we  went  in  the  Lady  Franklin.  One  morning  we 
stopped  at  Arkansas,  and,  when  we  had  finished  wooding, 
the  owner  of  the  yard  came  aboard,  saying  that  he  had 
been  robbed  by  two  of  his  choppers  the  night  before  and 
that  they  had  gone  up  the  shore.  He  thought  that  they 
might  hail  the  Franklin  for  a  passage  and  he  determined 
to  go  for  a  few  hundred  miles  in  the  hope  of  catching  them. 
Sure  enough,  the  next  morning  the  boat  was  hailed  at  day 
light,  and  three  men  came  off  in  the  yawl  which  was  sent 
for  them.  They  were  the  thieves,  and  the  first  person  they 
saw  at  the  gangway  was  the  man  that  they  had  robbed. 


274  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

The  plunder  was  upon  them,  so  that  denial  did  not  avail 
them,  and,  after  exacting  restitution,  it  was  determined  to 
set  them  ashore. 

"There  was  a  Kentuckian  on  board  who  was  the  per 
sonification  of  the  character  of  a  child  of  'Old  Kaintuck,' 
as  we  loved  to  call  it,  off-hand  in  his  manner,  thin  in  his 
person,  a  quick  eye  and  aquiline  nose,  with  long  dark  hair, 
tall  but  not  ungainly,  and  every  step  indicating  fearlessness 
and  decision.  He  had  attracted  my  notice  from  the  first 
day  I  saw  him.  He  played  cards  every  night,  and  lost 
and  won  with  as  much  nonchalance  as  that  of  a  dandy  lord, 
and  in  his  red  flannel  shirt,  home  spun  trousers,  and  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  sat  alongside  a  well  dressed  man  with  the 
easiest  self-composure  at  'vingt  et  un.'  This  morning  he 
offered  to  take  charge  of  the  thieves  who  were  to  land  on 
the  same  spot  with  himself.  'I  tell  you  what,  you  see.  I 
am  all  sorts  of  a  fellow,  and  could  lick  a  dozen  such  critters 
as  these  in  no  time,'  he  said,  as  he  proposed  taking  them  to 
gaol  anywhere.  There  was  no  gaol  nearer  than  sixty 
miles,  so  he  could  not  have  been  in  earnest,  but  he  persisted 
in  seeing  the  vagabonds  ashore,  and  the  last  we  saw  of  him 
he  was  ordering  them  into  a  poor  hut  on  the  bank  and  follow 
ing  them  in  with  his  rifle  on  his  shoulder  and  his  powder 
horn  and  shot  pouch  at  his  side. 

"We  reached  Point  Chico,  the  county  seat  of  Chico 
County  in  Arkansas,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  when  the 
above  occurrence  took  place,  and  saw  there  the  best  looking 
building  for  many  a  long  mile.  It  was  the  tavern  and  the 
Court  House  under  the  same  roof.  A  tall  building  built 
of  logs  was  the  gaol,  the  cell  being  the  second  story  of  the 
edifice,  reached  by  a  ladder  on  the  outside.  A  gentleman 
whom  we  took  on  board  here  and  who  had  lived  for  many 
years  at  Little  Rock,  the  seat  of  Government,  gave  me 


FORT  SNELL1NG,  ST.  PETER'S,  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI 
Drawn  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 


Al\'l  VIO  ^'fl/aTai  .I'd.  ( 
.,\  ,8.  ,tt  »&«\ 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  275 

some  curious  sketches  of  the  state  of  society  in  the  Territory. 
All  men  go  armed,  and  the  rifle,  the  dirk,  or  the  pistol 
make  their  mark  on  all  persons  who  are  aspirants  for  office, 
and  who  are  not  barely  submissive  to  imposition.  He 
showed  me  the  knife  he  carried.  It  was  called  a  Bouy 
(Bowie)  knife,  from  its  inventor.  I  had  often  seen  them 
before.  Bouy  was  once  engaged  in  a  personal  rencontre, 
and,  when  in  the  grasp  of  his  antagonist,  drew  out  his 
Spanish  knife  and  could  not  open  it,  as  he  had  only  one 
hand  at  liberty.  He  was  worsted,  and  the  Bouy  knife 
was  the  consequence  of  his  defeat.  It  is  a  knife  that  can 
be  opened  with  one  hand  by  pressing  a  spring  on  the  side 
with  the  fingers  as  you  clench  the  handle.  The  blade  is 
like  the  blade  of  a  Spanish  knife,  about  six  inches  long, 
pointed  and  remaining  open,  until  closed  by  raising  a 
catch  on  the  back  of  the  handle,  and  yet  what  is  all  this 
against  our  country?*  These  people  of  whom  I  speak  are 
all  our  pioneers.  They  have  fought  with  the  wilderness 
and  overcome  it,  and  if  they  have  lost  the  polish  of  society 
(if  they  ever  possessed  it)  or  acquired  the  manners  of 
isolated  people  who  eat  with  their  arms  in  hands,  yet  they 
have  added  a  portion,  and  a  goodly  portion,  to  the  great 
country  which  is  the  pride  and  the  hope  of  the  free  spirits 
of  the  world.  I  am  writing  at  this  moment  in  Cincinnati. 
I  am  in  the  midst  of  a  population  of  thirty  thousand  people. 
I  have  every  evidence  of  the  highest  civilization,  the  greatest 
luxury  and  the  most  advancing  improvement  around  me; 
and  yet  a  gentleman,  with  whom  I  have  just  been  conversing, 
has  described  to  me  a  state  of  things  existing  on  this  very 
spot  within  the  last  twenty  years  not  better  by  any 

This  description  was  written  in  1832.  Bowie  lost  his  life  at  the  Alamo  1836. 
The  knife  we  know  as  the  Bowie  knife  is  shaped  somewhat  like  a  scimitar  without 
the  spring. 


276  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

means  than  now  is  to  be  found  at  Little  Rock  in  the  Terri* 
tory  of  Arkansas. 

"The  approach  to  Cincinnati  is  much  like  the  approach 
to  Louisville  for  the  similarity  of  the  landing  at  both  places. 
At  Cincinnati,  however,  it  is  wider  and,  as  it  appears, 
better  paved;  but  there  is  the  same  singular  effect  produced 
by  the  crowds  of  people  and  carriages  moving  over  the 
sloping  bank.  Cincinnati  and  New  Orleans  are  the  two 
great  cities  west  of  the  mountains,  and  it  would  take  me  a 
volume  were  I  to  attempt  an  account  of  either  of  them. 
I  remained  four  days  in  Cincinnati,  and  walked  over  it  in 
every  direction.  It  is  more  like  an  eastern  city  than  any 
city  I  have  visited  west  of  the  mountains. 

"But  one  need  not  go  into  the  interior  to  find  rough  and 
uncouth  manners.  The  river  bank  furnishes  enough.  The 
distances  of  Courts  of  Justice,  the  thin  population,  the 
ignorance  of  the  inhabitants,  the  thousand  ways  of  escape 
from  the  consequences  of  a  crime  by  forest,  cane  brake, 
or  by  water,  offer  so  many  inducements  to  violence  and 
fraud  of  every  description,  that  it  would  be  strange  if  this 
part  of  the  land  were  exempt  from  them.  Counterfeiters 
and  the  passers  and  venders  of  counterfeit  money  abound, 
and  I  was  asked  twice  to  give  my  opinion  upon  two  one 
hundred  dollar  United  States  Bank  notes  that  had  most 
evidently  been  ten  dollar  bills  altered.  They  had  been 
received  by  a  deck  passenger  for  goods  out  of  his  first  boat 

at  a  place  near  M on  the  river.  I  found  at  one  wood 

chopper's  that  the  mulatto  owner  of  the  'Yard'  had  a  good 
looking  white  wife,  and  at  another  wood-yard  an  Indian 
had  just  killed  his  wife — a  white  woman  also.  No  notice 
seems  to  be  paid  to  these  things  here.  Justice  and  punish 
ment  appear  to  be  out  of  the  question,  and,  when  we  told 
of  the  murder  at  the  next  wood-yard,  the  only  reply  was 
"serves  her  right  for  marrying  an  Indian." 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  277 

"At  Memphis  the  Captain  agreed  to  take  in  tow  for 
St.  Louis  the  "Enterprise"  which  had  broken  a  wheel. 
It  was  in  the  night  that  this  agreement  was  made,  else  it 
would  have  been  opposed  and  prevented  by  the  passengers 
as  certain  to  make  much  delay,  but  in  the  morning  when  they 
discovered  their  consort  it  was  too  late  to  do  anything  but 
complain,  and  this  was  indulged  in  most  freely.  The  pas 
sengers,  however,  were  divided  in  their  opinions.  Some 
were  for  taking  her  on,  and  others  wanted  her  to  be  left 
at  the  first  village  we  came  to.  I  was  for  leaving  the  boat, 
as  we  had  every  reason  to  fear  that  a  day's  delay  might 
prevent  our  getting  to  Wheeling,  on  account  of  the  ice. 
A  constant  war  of  words  was  kept  up  until  we  reached  Mad 
rid.  The  Captain,  to  whom  we  addressed  a  petition,  brought 
the  Captain  of  the  Enterprise  to  our  cabin,  where  he  made  us 
a  speech;  and  when  the  question  was  taken,  it  was  decided 
in  his  favor,  and  he  gave  the  passengers  a  "Wine  Treat" 
in  consequence.  It  turned  out,  though,  that  we  suffered 
a  delay  of  twenty-five  hours  on  account  of  our  taking  in 
tow  the  Enterprise. " 

Mr.  Latrobe's  first  impression  of  Memphis  is  thus  re 
corded: 

"Towards  sundown  we  came  in  sight  of  Memphis  at  the 
end  of  a  long  reach  in  the  river.  It  is  situated  on  a  bluff 
of  naked  clay  soil,  marked  here  and  there  with  iron  and 
having  a  barren  and  unpromising  appearance.  The  town 
occupies  considerable  space  to  the  right  and  left. 

"On  the  21st  day  of  December  we  passed  New  Madrid, 
which  is  celebrated  on  account  of  the  earthquake  of  1812, 
which  laid  the  greater  part  of  it  in  ruins.  The  earthquake 
and  the  first  steamboat  visited  it  at  the  same  time,  and  the 
inhabitants,  it  is  said,  at  first  scarcely  knew  which  to  fear 
the  most. 


278  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"We  arrived  at  Louisville  soon  after  breakfast,  and  our 
boat  stopped  among  a  crowd  of  others  at  the  public  landing- 
slope,  paved  from  top  of  the  bank  to  the  edge  of  low  water, 
across  which  drags,  carts,  wagons,  horses,  men,  women  and 
children  were  hurrying  in  every  direction  going  to  and  from 
the  various  vessels  arriving  and  departing.  Without  this 
pavement  the  approach  to  the  river  would  be  always  difficult 
and  often  impracticable;  as  it  is,  the  rise  and  fall  of  the 
water  cause  no  inconvenience,  the  equal  grade  of  the  slope 
indicating  at  all  times  to  the  pilot  the  limit  of  prudent 
approach  to  the  shore  and  affording  to  the  various  vehicles 
employed  on  the  land  the  easiest  access  to  the  water's 
edge.  But  the  effect,  as  you  approach,  is  singular  and 
picturesque.  Louisville  is  so  important  a  place  that  it 
would  take  more  time  to  describe  it  than  I  can  spare. 
The  public  buildings  are  not  deficient  in  taste,  and  many  of 
the  private  ones  are  in  first-class  order.  Kentucky  has 
every  reason  to  be  proud  of  this  one  of  its  cities.  Steam 
boats  are  arriving  and  parting  at  all  hours,  and  as  you  walk 
the  streets  their  bills  stare  you  in  the  face  everywhere. 
'The  Homer  for  New  Orleans,'  'The  Hawk  Eye  for  Cin 
cinnati,'  'The  Rambler  for  St.  Louis,'  etc.  Taverns  are 
numerous.  Upon  one  of  the  latter  I  copied  the  following 
enumeration  of  its  attractions.  'Hot  stews,  hot  punch, 
pig's  feet,  toast  and  tea,  egg-nog,  fried  tripe,  ham  and  eggs, 
beef  steak  and  coffee,  buckwheat  cakes  and  honey.'  The 
Falls  of  the  Ohio  are  here  passed  by  canal — the  Louisville 
and  Portland.  This  is  truly  a  magnificent  work.  The 
locks  are  of  hewn  sandstone  of  a  very  fine  grain,  and  are  four 
in  number.  The  closeness  of  the  masonry,  its  neatness, 
its  perfection,  cannot  be  surpassed.  The  canal  extends 
two  miles  in  length,  and  is  crossed  by  one  bridge,  a  costly 
one  of  stone  of  three  arches,  equalling  in  execution  the 
locks  below. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  279 

"We  left  Louisville  in  the  evening,  the  day  having  been 
occupied  in  discharging  the  freight  which  the  Lady  Franklin 
brought  up  from  New  Orleans.  By  day  break  we  were  at 
Madison,  a  pretty  thriving  town  in  Indiana,  where  we 
stopped  for  four  hours.  The  cabin  passengers  determined 
to  celebrate  Christmas  day,  and  some  of  them  went  into  the 
town  and  purchased  all  the  Chinese  firecrackers  it  contained, 
and  then  young  and  old,  like  so  many  children,  amused 
themselves  in  setting  them  off.  Truly,  we  had  all  gotten 
tired  of  the  steamboat  and  resorted  to  anything  that  offered 
variety.  The  evening  before  I  had  taught  some  of  my 
fellow  travelers  to  play  old  bachelor,  and  when  I  got  up 
the  next  morning  I  found  that  seven  of  them  had  sat  all 
night  at  it  and  had  gone  to  bed  pretty  well  corned,  as  they 
say  here;  for  they  had  played  for  a  "treat"  round  from  the 
old  Bachelor  and,  having  played  some  twenty  or  thirty 
games  or  so,  they  had  drunk  as  many  times.  I  had  taught 
them  solitaire  as  we  came  up  the  Mississippi,  and  it  was 
amusing  to  see  half  a  dozen  of  them,  some  old  Kentucky 
boatmen,  trying  to  arrange  the  suits  in  their  sequence  hour 
after  hour,  not  speaking  a  word,  except  to  swear  to  them 
selves  occasionally  at  their  disappointment,  or  to  chuckle 
in  the  same  manner  at  their  success.  Cards  were  indeed  the 
great  standby  on  the  journey.  Brag  and  Vingt  et  un  were 
the  favorite  games.  Money  was  always  played  for,  and! 
there  was  a  party  of  Brag  players  who  played  very  deep 
and  between  whom  large  sums  were  alternately  lost  and 
won.  One  had  little  society  if  he  looked  for  similarity  of 
taste,  jesting  and  pursuits,  but  it  was  the  very  company  for 
one  who  was  a  stranger  in  the  land  to  pick  up  knowledge, 
in  which  to  note  classes  of  character  and  to  see  the  habits 
of  a  peculiar  and  new  people.  Sometimes  old  Fagan,  who 
had  been  thirty  years  and  upwards  on  the  river,  would 


280  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

-begin  to  dilate  with  a  singular  grandiloquence  upon  the 
coming  glories  of  the  West,  and  interlaced  his  conversation 
with  anecdotes  of  the  "  Massesseppa, "  as  he  could  recollect 
it.  Then  there  was  another  man  who  told  me  of  his  fights, 
who  was  upon  the  river  when  it  ran  towards  its  source  during 
the  earthquake  of  New  Madrid,  and  whose  flat  boat  had 
actually  ascended  for  more  than  an  hour  retrograde  waters 
and  then  rushed  back  upon  them  with  horrible  velocity 
as  they  returned  to  their  usual  direction." 

THE  CLAIBORNE  FAMILY. 

.  Miss  Claiborne  was  a  descendent  of  William  Claiborne 
who  in  1625  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colony 
of  Virginia.  On  April  6,  1642,  the  King  appointed  him 
Treasurer  of  Virginia,  for  life. 

In  1631  Claiborne,  who  had  a  grant  from  Charles  I, 
made  a  trading  settlement  on  Kent  Island  in  the  Chesapeake. 
The  proprietors  of  Maryland  claimed  that  the  Island  was 
included  in  their  grant.  The  date  of  the  Calvert  grant 
was  after  the  date  of  Claiborne' s.  Out  of  this  grew  what 
is  improperly  known  as  'The  Claiborne  Rebellion.' 

A  struggle  ensued,  and  several  of  Claiborne' s  men  were 
killed  and  captured.  Two  of  his  vessels  were  taken,  and 
he  was  expelled  from  the  Island  in  September  1651.  He 
was  appointed  one  of  the  Parliamentary  Commissioners  the 
next  year,  and  expelled  Lord  Baltimore's  Governor.  In 
1654  the  Claiborne  party  defeated  the  Lord  Baltimore 
party,  led  by  Governor  Stone,  and  remained  in  possession 
until  1658. 

One  of  the  most  rapid  criminal  proceedings  of  which  we 
have  a  record  grew  out  of  this  conflict. 

In  the  harbor  of  the  great  Wicomico,  Waren  (agent  of 
Claiborne)  met  Captain  Cornwalles,  of  St.  Mary's,  in  the 


PORTRAIT  OF  MRS.  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 
Painted  by  Thomas  Sully 


.a  .\\  WROX 

& 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  281 

pinnace  St.  Margaret,  and  a  fight  ensued.  Waren,  John 
Belles  and  William  Dorsey,  of  the  Virginia  party,  were 
killed.  Thomas  Smith  (Gent)  was  taken  prisoner. 

The  fate  of  Smith  is  told  in  the  Act  of  Assembly,  14th 
of  March,  1637  (twenty-four  freemen,  names  given) : 

"Then  was  Thomas  Smith  called  to  the  barre,  being 
indicted  of  pyracie,  and  the  Secretary  made  himself  attorney 
for  the  Lord  proprietor  and  read  his  Lordship's  warrant 
in  that  behalf.  Then  did  the  attorney  put  in  an  indictment 
and  an  arraynment,  and  demanded  that  the  prisoner  might 
be  brought  to  trial  upon  his  indictment,  and  the  indictment 
being  read,  he  pleaded  "not  guilty"  ....  Found 
guilty,  except  by  one  John  Halfehide,  who  said  "not  guilty. " 
Then  sentence  was  pronounced  in  the  name  of  all  of  the 
freemen,  that  Thomas  Smith  should  be  hanged  by  the  neck 
until  he  be  dead.  Then  did  the  prisoner  demand  his  clergy, 
but  it  was  answered  by  the  President  that  clergy  would 
not  be  allowed  in  this  case,  and,  if  it  might,  yet  now  it 
was  demanded  too  late  after  judgment." 

Here  as  will  be  seen,  the  Assembly  acted  as  grand  jury  and 
petty  jury.  A  unanimous  verdict  was  not  given.  That 
any  action  of  the  prisoner  should  be  too  late,  in  such  an 
expeditious  trial,  seems  strange. 

The  benefit  of  clergy  is  sometimes  confused  with  sanctuary. 

A  great  iron  knocker  hangs  on  the  outer  door  of  Durham 
Cathedral.  In  olden  days  sanctuary  was  conferred  on  a 
man  accused  of  crime  who  succeeded  in  reaching  this  knocker. 
There  were  many  other  places  of  sanctuary  in  England. 

Benefit  of  clergy  grew  out  of  the  great  respect  shown  in 
olden  times  to  those  who  could  write,  and  the  fact  that  it 
was  chiefly  the  clergy  who  possessed  the  knowledge  and 
ability. 

The  third  Volume  of  Bacon's  Works,  252,  gives  the  origin 
of  this  practice: 


282  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"This  having  their  books  is  called  their  clergy,  which  in  an 
cient  times  began  thus.  For  the  scarcity  of  clergy  in  the  realm 
of  England  to  be  disposed  in  religious  houses,  or  for  priests 
and  deacons,  and  clerks  of  parishes,  there  was  prerogative 
allowed  to  the  clergy,  that  if  any  man  who  could  read  as  a 
clerk  were  to  be  condemned  to  death,  the  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  might,  if  he  would,  claim  him  as  Clerk,  and  he  was 
to  see  him  tried  in  the  face  of  the  Court,  whether  he  could 
read  or  not.  The  books  were  prepared,  and  brought  by 
the  Bishop,  and  the  Judge  was  to  turn  to  some  place  as  he 
should  think  meet,  and  if  the  prisoner  could  read,  then  the 
Bishop  was  to  have  him  delivered  over  unto  him  to  dispose 
of  in  some  place  of  the  clergy,  as  he  should  think  meet,  but 
if  either  the  Bishop  would  not  demand  him,  or  the  prisoner 
could  not  read,  then  he  was  to  be  put  to  death. " 

MR.    LATROBE    IN   RESPONSE   TO    A   REQUEST    TO    DELIVER   A 
LECTURE  ON  CLAIBORNE 

"November  20,  1848. 
"J.  P.  Kennedy,  Esq., 

Chm,  &c.  &c. 
My  dear  Kennedy: 

I  am  far  too  much  of  a  used-up  man  just  now  to  adventure 
anything  out  of  the  beaten  track  of  office  duties;  so  that  the 
Historical  Society  will  have  to  find  some  other  orator,  and 
poor  Claiborne's  memory  must  bear  a  while  longer  all  the 
obloquy  which  any  effort  of  mine  might  relieve  it  from.  In 
truth  I  am  by  no  means  certain  that  I  could  do  his  memory 
much  service;  although  I  have  at  times  thought  that  sufficient 
allowance  has  not  been  made  by  history  for  the  effect  of 
circumstances  on  a  strong-willed  energetic  man  who,  wiser 
than  most  of  his  contemporaries,  was  necessarily  mis 
understood  and  depreciated  by  them  when  they  became 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  283 

his  chroniclers.  I  must  have  a  year  or  two's  rest,  however, 
before  I  can  begin  to  look  seriously  into  my  memoranda 
on  the  subject. 

Ever  faithfully  yours, 

Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe." 

We  are  now  finding  out  that  Claiborne's  claim  was  prob 
ably  better  than  that  of  the  Calverts.  In  an  address 
delivered  by  the  late  Bradley  T.  Johnson  at  Easton,  July 
26,  1888,  he  says  in  this  connection: 

"The  actual  foundation  of  the  Eastern  Shore  was  laid 
at  Kent  Island  by  Colonel  William  Claiborne,  under  the 
patronage  of  Sir  William  Alexander.  William  Claiborne 
was  the  first  Eastern  Shoreman,  and  no  man  has  been  so 
universally  vituperated  by  Maryland  and  Virginia  histor 
ians.  Instead  of  being  a  rebel,  or  the  "malignant  Clai 
borne,"  as  Mr.  Bancroft  calls  him,  or  "the  evil  genius  of 
Maryland,"  as  Chief  Justice  Taney  stigmatizes  him,  re 
cent  investigation  has  proved  that  he  was  a  gentleman  of 
ancient  and  honorable  family,  of  high  ambition,  of  great 
energy  and  untiring  pertinacity,  and  that  his  life  was  one 
long  struggle  to  protect  his  rights  against  the  aggressions 
of  the  Calverts,  to  whom  he  was  superior  in  both  social 
and  political  influences." 

An  uncle  of  Miss  Claiborne  was  Governor  of  Mississippi 
and  also  Governor  of  Louisiana,  and  a  United  States  Sena 
tor.  Her  father,  General  Ferdinand  Leigh  Claiborne, 
was  famous  for  his  defeat  of  Waterford  and  the  Creek  Army. 


CHAPTER  XI 

LIFE  AFTER  SECOND  MARRIAGE — ACQUAINTANCES  AND 
CLIENTS — FRIENDSHIP  WITH  CHARLES  HARPER  AND  His 
ESTRANGEMENT  DUE  TO  His  MARRIAGE — THE  SETTLE 
MENT  or  THE  CONTROVERSY  OVER  THE  WILL  AND  CODICIL 
or  CHARLES  CARROLL  OF  CARROLLTON. 

"With  my  marriage  good  fortune  seemed  to  come.  I 
moved  from  the  house  in  Lexington  Street  west  of  Pine, 
where  I  found  my  mother  on  my  return  from  West  Point, 
to  a  house  in  the  same  street  between  Calvert  and  North 
Street,  next  door  but  one  to  what  is  now  the  Newton  Uni 
versity,  and  to  this  I  brought  my  wife. 

"My  brother  had  been  sent  to  St.  Mary's  College  on  my 
mother's  return  from  New  Orleans,  and  graduated  there  in 
due  time  with  much  distinction.  He  then  read  law  with 
Mr.  Charles  F.  Mayer,  and,  as  my  business  was  not  enough 
for  two  persons'  support,  went  to  New  Jersey  and  opened 
an  office  in  Salem  County,  at  Alloways  Town.  This  was 
a  suggestion  of  my  uncle,  Mr.  Samuel  Hazlehurst  who,  with 
my  mother,  possessed  some  woodland  hard  by,  of  which 
my  brother  was  the  agent  and  which  gave  him  something. 
But  this  business  was  uncertain.  He  left  New  Jersey  where 
he  was  in  some  petty  practice  in  Alloways  Town,  but  where 
he  was  dying  almost  with  fever  and  ague,  and  made  his  home 
with  me.  He  was  well  read  in  the  profession  and,  had  he 
continued  in  it,  would  have  made  a  mark;  but  he  detested 
it.  One  day  at  dinner  a  friend  and  guest  asked  me,  in  my 
brother's  presence,  it  I  could  help  his  brother  to  procure  a 
situation  in  the  engineer  corps  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
R.  R.  Co.  I  promised  to  do  my  best.  After  dinner,  when 

284 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  285 

we  were  alone,  Ben  surprised  me  by  asking  for  the  influence 
in  behalf  of  my  own  brother  that  I  had  promised  to  the 
brother  of  my  friend.  He  had  made  up  his  mind,  he  said, 
and  was  only  too  glad  to  give  Blackstone  the  go-by,  and 
begin  at  the  foot  of  the  engineering  ladder.  And  in  a  day 
or  two  he  was  measuring  broken  stones  for  ballasting  on 
the  track  of  the  Railroad  west  of  Ellicott's  Mills  at  $1.00 
a  day,  as  happy  as  a  lord  and  as  healthy  as  an  Indian. 
When  he  retired  very  recently  from  active  work  in  the 
profession,  he  was  at  the  top  of  the  ladder  at  whose  foot  he 
stood  in  1829.  And  this  is  the  way  in  which  he  changed 
professions. 

"  It  was  a  swap  between  us.  I  had  been  educated  as  an 
engineer  and  became  a  lawyer,  and  he,  educated  as  a  lawyer, 
became  an  engineer.  L'homme  propose,  et  Dieu  dispose. 

"A  friend  of  mine  in  those  days,  attracted  by  the  part 
I  took  in  Colonization,  was  Moses  Sheppard,  a  Quaker,  who 
was  my  friend  through  life,  and  he  and  I  were  delegates 
on  one  occasion  to  Washington  at  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  American  Colonization  Society.  He  was  a  man  whose 
wisdom  was  sententious  and  profound.  He  spoke  in  epi 
grams.  I  think  he  loved  me  about  as  much  as  he  loved  any 
one.  Living  in  the  narrowest  way,  his  task  was  accumu 
lation,  and  he  left  his  money  to  found  a  lunatic  asylum. 
He  gave  a  little  himself  to  Colonization,  but  he  got  others  to 
give.  He  refrained  from  giving,  not  because  he  was  mean,  but 
because  he  had  an  object  that  could  only  be  accomplished  by 
accumulation.  When  he  died  all  our  mutual  acquaintances 
wondered  why  I  had  no  part  assigned  me  in  the  execution 
of  his  plans.  I  wondered,  too,  and  so  much  wonder  was 
expressed  that  I  was  annoyed.  It  was  only  within  the  week 
in  which  I  am  now  writing  that  I  fell  in  causually  with  his 
nephew  who  knew  all  about  it.  I  was  to  have  been  put  in 


286  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

charge  of  his  plans  and  his  will  was  prepared  accordingly. 
I  had  indeed  drawn  the  technical  part  of  it,  names  left 
blank,  when,  to  use  the  words  of  my  informant,  "just  at 
the  moment  shortly  before  his  death  when  such  a  thing 
could  be  done,  he  was  persuaded  to  put  others  in  your  place." 
What  or  who  the  malign  influence  was,  was  not  told  me, 
but  I  was  glad  to  hear  the  explanation  that  Moses  Sheppard 
died  my  friend.  Well,  he  and  I  worked  hard  for  Coloniza 
tion  anyhow  in  those  days,  and  I  have  been  a  steady  worker 
since. " 

The  character  here  depicted — a  man  who,  apparently 
mean,  was  really  not  so,  having  a  worthy  object  that  could 
only  be  accomplished  by  accumulation — has  had  many  pro 
totypes.  Moses  Sheppard's  money  is  now  used  to  support 
what  is  known  as  the  Sheppard  and  Enoch  Pratt  Institute 
situated  in  Baltimore  County,  Maryland,  near  Towson.  John 
McDonough,  the  founder  of  the  McDonough  Institute  of 
Baltimore  County  has  the  following  recital  in  his  will :  "They 
said  of  me  'He's  rich,  old  and  without  wife  or  children; 
let  us  take  from  him  what  he  has. '  Infatuated  men  they 
knew  not  that  this  was  to  take  from  themselves;  for  I  was 
laboring  all  my  life  not  for  myself  but  for  them  and  their 
children."  This  is  but  a  replica  of  the  character  of  Godinot, 
whose  reputation  as  a  miser  gave  him  the  name  of  the 
"Griper."  He  had  been  impressed  with  the  need  of  the 
poor  and  led  a  life  of  extreme  frugality,  that  his  savings 
might  be  laid  out  in  building  an  aqueduct  to  furnish  them 
with  water. 

As  an  indication  of  Mr.  Sheppard's  interest,  the  following 
letter,  written  just  after  Mr.  Latrobe  lost  his  first  wife,  is 
of  interest: 

"I  enclose  check  for  $50.  I  do  not  give  you  this  fee  as 
a  stimulant;  as  such  it  is  not  necessary.  I  do  not  give  it 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  287 

in  the  belief  that  any  apprehension  exists  that  a  due  com 
pensation  would  be  withheld  at  the  termination  of  the  case. 
But  as  the  painful  occurrence  to  which  you  have  lately 
been  subjected  must  have  detached  your  attention  from 
pecuniary  affairs,  I  give  it  now  because  I  think  it  might 
be  useful. 

Moses  Sheppard. 
Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe.  12  January,  1831." 

"But  this  is  an  episode.  To  get  back  to  the  bar  and  my 
married  life.  The  first  fancy  ball  ever  given  in  Baltimore 
was  one  for  which  I  manufactured  out  of  pasteboard  and 
tinfoil  a  complete  suit  of  plate  armour  for  'Don  Quixote,' 
whose  character  I  assumed.  It  remained  in  the  family 
stored  away  in  a  barrel,  which  long  years  afterwards  was 
placed  in  the  corner  of  the  school-house  at  'Fairy  Knowe.' 
I  had  forgotten  it,  and  was  startled  one  day  to  find  that  a 
servant  man,  black  as  the  ace  of  spades,  had  arrayed  him 
self  in  it,  and  could  not  be  extricated  in  time  to  escape 
detection  when  he  heard  approaching  footsteps.  It  was 
predicted  that  this  armour  escapade  of  mine  would  do  me 
a  professional  disservice,  but  I  survived  it;  and  it  is  referred 
to  now  as  an  indication  of  the  mechanical  turn  that  was 
afterwards  so  eminently  useful  to  me  as  counsel  in  patent 
cases.  I  had  shaped  boats  as  all  boys  do,  but  my  plate 
armour  was  an  achievement. 

"Turning  not  long  since  to  the  book  in  which  are  entered 
all  the  fees  I  ever  received,  I  am  reminded  of  more  than 
one  incident  of  my  career,  at  this  period  of  my  life.  Of 
John  Bouis,  the  snuffy  old  tinman  and  lamp  maker,  for 
whom  I  drew  my  first  specification  for  a  patent;  of  Henderson 
and  his  biscuit  machine,  for  whom  I  tried  my  first  patent 
case;  of  old  Richard  Shipley,  the  builder,  gaunt,  quaint  and 
square-shouldered,  for  whom  I  turned  mechanical  knowledge 


288  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

to  account;  of  Mathew  Smith,  the  Quaker  client,  who  gave 
me  my  first  trustee  business,  one  of  the  kindest,  truest  and 
best  of  men,  whose  wife,  surviving  him  many  years  and 
dying  at  a  good  old  age,  was  a  woman  of  remarkable  in 
telligence,  and  fit  mate  for  such  a  husband;  of  Barrett, 
the  shipping  master,  who  swore  by  me,  because  he  found 
I  knew  the  nomenclature  of  a  ship  from  truck  to  keelson, 
and  drew  one  to  aid  him  in  his  explanation  of  a  case  of 
assault  and  battery  he  brought  to  me;  of  Charles  Howard 
of  S.,  the  tobacconist,  who  from  being  my  client  became 
my  student,  and  learned  Latin  well,  while  he  rolled  cigars 
with  a  grammar  open  before  him — dead  now,  and  the  child 
ren  even  of  many  of  them  passed  away. 

"At  one  time  during  my  student  life  and  early  practice, 
I  had  some  temptation  to  turn  my  attention  to  literature 
as  a  profession.  I  had,  as  already  said,  written  upon  more 
than  one  subject,  and  found  little  difficulty  in  slinging 
words  together.  Among  other  things  that  came  from  my 
pen  were  three  tales  published  in  successive  years  in  the 
Atlantic  Souvenir — 'The  Esmeralda,'  founded  upon  the 
capture  of  the  vessel  of  that  name  by  Lord  Cochrane,  in  the 
harbor  of  Callao;  'The  Mortgage;'  and  'Giles  Hetherby,' 
the  last  two  being  purely  imaginative.  My  nom  de 
plume  was  'Godfrey  Wallace,'  a  signature  that  I  adopted 
for  some  rhymes  that  the  Atlantic  Souvenir  contained,  the 
most  pretentious  of  which  had  some  little  credit  given  to  it 
and  was  called  the  "Bower  of  Paphos,"  being  written  to 
suit  an  engraving  so  named  that  was  sent  to  inspire  me. 
Had  I  been  willing  to  work  in  the  same  way,  I  would  have 
found,  I  think,  a  good  deal  of  employment  in  penny-a-line 
literature.  Luckily,  however,  I  had  other  views  and  stuck 
closely  to  the  law. 

"On  the  same  floor  with  Kennedy's  office  was  the  office 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  289 

of  his  fidus  achates,  Peter  H.  Cruse,  a  lawyer,  too,  more 
addicted  to  literature  than  to  law,  and  who  was  at  the  time 
of  his  death  editor  of  the  'Baltimore  American.'  We 
were  excellent  friends,  and  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him,  being 
a  frequent  visitor  to  his  room.  He  was  a  very  able  writer 
and  a  man  of  great  information,  genial,  too,  when  not  out 
of  sorts  with  the  world  which  treated  him  below  his  merits, 
a  polished  gentleman  of  the  highest  sort  of  honor,  and  one 
of  the  most  affable  men  in  the  society  of  Baltimore.  One  of 
those  men  who  everyone  thinks  ought  to  make  their  mark, 
and  yet  don't  make  it.  He  died  of  the  Cholera  in  1832. 

"In  the  room  of  Mr.  Cruse  there  was  often  a  clever  re 
union  of  good  fellows.  Josiah  Pennington,  Kennedy's 
most  intimate  friend,  Charles  Blodgett,  Charles  Walsh, 
Alexander  Turnbull — all  names  that  I  now  recall.  Pen 
nington  was  a  man  of  reading  and  given  to  the  law,  a  hard 
and  successful  worker  in  the  profession,  who  attended  to 
his  business  thoroughly  and  profitably.  Charles  Blodgett 
was  an  odd,  eccentric,  learned  man,  of  great  wit  and  keen 
observation,  another  of  the  unmarking  men.  Charles 
Walsh  was  another  lawyer  also  given  to  literature  and  a 
musician.  He  wore  the  fetters  of  the  profession  lightly, 
and  made  no  mark.  Alexander  Turnbull  was  a  merchant, 
and  a  very  estimable  gentleman,  whose  friendship  for  the 
society  of  literary  men  made  him  seek  Cruse's  room,  which 
was  perhaps  a  center  of  it  in  Baltimore. 

"But  while  I  consorted  with  these,  all  older  than  myself, 
I  was  oftener  with  William  Gwynn  than  any  other.  The 
Federal  Gazette  office  was  my  house  of  call  when  I  had  an 
idle  hour.  I  was  on  terms  of  familiar  intimacy  with  Mr. 
Gwynn,  and  wrote  for  the  paper,  or  rather  he  published 
what  I  wrote.  I  found  the  other  day  a  number  of  articles 
in  which  I  reviewed  an  exhibition  of  paintings  at  the  Balti- 


290  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

more  Museum.  I  wrote  rhymes,  too,  and  the  carriers' 
addresses,  I  think  I  have  already  said,  for  many  years.  With 
no  claims  to  poetical  power,  I  think  I  did,  at  all  events, 
better  than  my  predecessor  in  the  office  I  assumed. 

"  I  forgot  to  say,  when  stating  that  I  had  become  a  member 
of  the  Philokresian  Society,  that  I  was  elected  in  the  third 
year  of  my  membership  to  deliver  the  annual  oration. 
The  audience  was  a  large  one  and  very  fashionable.  I  refer 
to  this  only  because  it  introduced  to  me  many  friends  that 
I  found  useful  afterwards.  My  oration  was  jejune  enough. 
I  read  it  some  years  ago  without  discovering  that  I  had  been 
a  Demosthenes  then. 

"I  remember  that  on  one  occasion,  when  Mr.  Gwynn  was 
temporarily  absent,  he  left  the  control  of  the  editorial 
columns  to  me,  and,  as  ill  luck  would  have  it,  in  my  ignor 
ance  that  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  and  himself  were 
intimate  personal  friends,  I  wrote  a  few  paragraphs  headed 
"The  last  of  the  Powhatans"  (Cooper's  novel  "The  last  of 
the  Mohicans"  was  then  very  popular),  in  which  I  described 
Mr.  Randolph,  as  I  thought  and  still  think,  justly  and  not 
in  the  most  flattering  manner.  On  the  return  of  Mr. 
Gwynn,  he  was  advised  of  what  I  had  done  by  a  reproachful 
letter  from  Mr.  Randolph.  A£  a  matter  of  course  an  apology 
appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  Gazette  and  my  editorship 
came  to  an  untimely  end. 

"I  think  that  I  was  employed  in  1831  to  dock  the  entail 
of  Dougheragan  Manor,  "The  Manor,"  so  called  par- 
excellence,  of  Charles  Carroll.  A  deed  of  bargain  and  sale 
to  his  grandson,  with  a  covenant  to  stand  seized  to  the  use 
of  Mr.  Carroll  for  life,  did  it.  But  the  family  was  a  divided 
one.  A  portion  of  it  denied  Mr.  Carroll's  competency  to 
do  any  lawful  act  concerning  his  estate,  and,  as  I  knew  how 
matters  stood,  it  was  my  intent  that  the  circumstances 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  291 

attending  the  execution  of  the  deed  should  be  such  as  should 
clear  my  reputation  as  a  lawyer  in  the  event  of  its  ever 
being  assailed.  There  never  was  perhaps  a  deed  previous 
to  the  signing  of  which  more  pains  were  taken  to  satisfy 
bystanders  of  the  capacity  of  the  maker.  The  scene  was 
an  impressive  one.  There  were  many  visitors  at  the  Manor. 
The  Judge  who  was  to  take  the  acknowledgments,  the  late 
T.  B.  Dorsey,  was  one  of  them.  All  gathered  in  the  back 
parlor  on  the  right  of  the  hall  at  my  request,  and,  seated 
in  his  easy  chair  in  the  center  of  the  room,  a  man  of  ninety- 
four,  with  a  clear,  though  thin  and  passing  voice,  Mr. 
Carroll,  without  being  aware  of  the  object  of  the  con 
versation,  waited  to  speak  of  the  motives  that  induced 
him  to  break  an  estate  that  had  existed  for  generations, 
and  of  the  scope  and  effect  of  the  instrument  he  was  about 
to  sign.  Subsequently,  in  the  course  of  the  litigation  that 
followed  Mr.  Carroll's  death  and  growing  out  of  his  will,  the 
deed  here  referred  to  was  spoken  of,  but  its  validity  was 
never  assailed,  although  portions  of  the  will  of  prior  date 
were  regarded  as  the  act  of  a  man  of  an  unsound  mind. 

"The  litigation  here  mentioned  had  an  effect  upon  my 
feelings  and  friendship,  if  not  on  my  fortunes.  I  might 
pass  over  the  matter  as  one  which  has  lost  its  interest, 
but  there  are  still  alive  those  who  may  tell  to  their  children 
a  story  that  may  be  repeated  to  mine,  and  therefore  I  make 
my  statement  of  my  connection  with  the  will  of  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton. 

"The  will  of  Mr.  Carroll  was  drawn  by  Mr.  Taney, 
except  the  last  codicil  which  I  prepared.  What  the  will 
contained  I  neither  knew  nor  cared  to  know.  Whether  the 
Caton  or  the  Harper  branch  of  the  family  fared  well  under 
it  never  entered  my  mind,  when  Mr.  Caton,  saying  he  came 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Carroll,  asked  me  to  prepare  a  codicil 


292  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

which  would  forfeit  the  interest  under  it  of  any  party  that 
questioned  the  validity  of  the  instrument.  This  I  did  and 
the  codicil  was  executed.  When  Mr.  Carroll  died  and  the 
will  was  opened,  it  was  seen  that  the  Caton  branch  was 
benefited  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Harper  branch  and  of 
Charles  Carroll,  the  grandson  of  the  testator.  That  I  was 
innocent  of  any  purpose  to  injure  my  most  intimate  friends, 
Charles  Harper  and  his  sister  Emily  or  their  mother  to 
whose  kindness  I  owed  so  much,  was  at  once  understood 
by  all  three.  That  I  should  have  had  any  agency,  however 
unconsciously,  in  doing  what  they  conceived  to  be  a  dis 
service  was  a  subject  to  me  of  great  regret,  and  they  were 
sure  of  it.  But  Mrs.  Charles  Harper  took  a  different  view, 
and,  from  this  time  out,  she  became  my  'unfriend' — this 
is  the  gentlest  word  I  can  use.  She  made  it  her  business  to 
speak  of  me  most  unkindly  or  worse,  and,  I  have  every 
reason  to  believe,  impressed  her  mother  with  the  conviction 
that  I  had  been  guilty  of  some  gross  wrong  to  my  best 
friend.  Under  such  circumstances  the  intimacy  that  for 
years  had  been  that  of  a  brother  with  her  husband  could 
not  continue.  Also,  although  Mrs.  Gen'l.  Harper  and  her 
daughter,  to  this  day,  did  me  justice,  Mrs.  Chas.  Harper 
died,  I  fear,  without  forgiving  me  for  an  act  in  which  I  was 
as  guiltless  of  wrong  as  any  act  of  now  a  long  life  time. 
That  I  had  no  interested  motive  antagonistic  to  that  branch 
of  the  family  that  thus  became  separated  from  me  needs 
no  argument  to  prove.  And  when  the  litigation  commenced, 
I  returned  the  retaining  fee  that  was  sent  me  on  the  part  of 
Mrs.  McTavish  who  was  the  representative  in  the  contest 
of  the  Caton  branch.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  suffered 
any  actual  injury  in  general  reputation  or  primarily,  on 
account  of  this  lady's  persistent  unkindness,  but,  unquestion 
ably,  I  suffered  much  in  feeling,  and  even  now  cannot  refer 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  293 

to  this  period  of  my  life  without  sorrowful  regret.  Charles 
Harper  was  to  me  as  a  very  dear  brother,  and  the  friendship 
that  existed  between  us  has  never  been  entertained  on  my 
part  for  another  of  my  subsequent  acquaintances,  nor,  so 
far  as  I  can  learn,  was  my  place  with  him  afterwards  filled. 
There  are  women  who  desire  that  their  husbands  con 
centrate  all  their  affections  on  themselves.  I  think  Mrs. 
Charles  Harper  was  such  a  woman." 

This  episode  of  his  life  made  a  lasting  impression.  The 
above  is  a  recital  of  the  break  which  occured  in  1832.  In 
his  diary  19th  February,  1834,  he  writes  "A  page  in  my 
life:" 

"What  I  am  about  to  record  gives  me  pain;  so  much  so 
that  I  have  more  than  once  hesitated  to  proceed  with  it. 
But  I  owe  it  to  myself — to  my  children — to  leave  some 
record  of  circumstances  which  from  others  may  receive  a 
very  different  gloss  from  that  which  I  will  give  to  them. 

"My  bosom  friend  was  Charles  C.  Harper.  His  father, 
General  Robert  G.  Harper,  was  my  father's  friend  and  my 
friend.  When  I  left  West  Point,  where  I  was  educated,  I 
entered  his  office  as  a  student  at  law.  I  was  on  terms  of 
the  most  intimate  footing  in  his  family.  I  had  a  place 
always  at  his  table.  He  gave  me  his  countenance.  He 
spoke  kindly  of  me  in  the  world.  His  confidence  was  mine. 
In  truth  I  owed  everything  to  him.  He  was  my  benefactor. 
I  loved  and  venerated  him,  as  though  he  had  been  my 
father.  No  father  could  have  done  more  for  me.  History 
will  pronounce  his  eulogy.  He  was  one  of  the  great  men 
of  America,  and  his  friendship  for  me  was  the  highest 
honor  I  ever  enjoyed.  I  followed  him  to  the  grave.  I 
designed  his  monument  and  I  wrote  his  epitaph.  Charles 
Harper,  his  son,  was  about  my  own  age  and  became  my 
bosom  friend.  His  father's  death  made  us  more  intimate 


294  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

than  ever.  When  he  married  Miss  Chiffelle  of  South 
Carolina,  I  tried  to  love  her  as  I  loved  him.  I  had  no  other 
intimates,  and  there  was  nothing  that  I  would  not  have 
done  for  Charles  Harper  and  his  wife.  Upon  commencing 
the  practice  of  the  law  during  General  Harper's  lifetime, 
I  had  obtained  the  business  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton 
and  his  family,  which  I  enjoyed  until  the  death  of  Mr. 
Carroll  in  1832.  Charles  Harper,  his  wife,  mother,  sister 
and  brother  went  to  France,  Charles  as  Secretary  of  Legation 
to  Mr.  Rives.  While  he  was  absent  I  frequently  wrote  to 
him  and  he  replied  regularly.  Distance  made  no  difference 
in  our  friendship.  While  he  was  in  France,  Mr.  Carroll 
gave  to  his  grand-daughter,  Mrs.  McTavish,  the  Folly 
Farm  on  Doughoragan  Manor.  The  world  talked  much  of 
this  at  the  time  and  I  wrote  the  gossip  of  the  day  to  Charles, 
advising  him  to  come  home  and  attend  to  his  own  interests. 
During  his  absence  Mr.  Caton,  Mr.  Carroll's  son-in-law, 
brought  me  one  day  a  memorandum  from  which  to  prepare  a 
codicil  to  make  void  the  legacy  of  any  one  of  the  distributees 
who  should  dispute  any  of  Mr.  Carroll's  previous  acts. 
I  advised  against  the  preparation  of  such  a  codicil  as  likely 
to  produce  unpleasant  feelings,  and  suggested  the  propriety 
of  surrounding  Mr.  Carroll  with  witnesses  who  would 
testify  to  his  competency  hereafter.  I  was  told  this  had 
been  done — that  Mr.  Carroll  wanted  the  codicil  drawn, 
that  Mr.  Taney  who  had  done  such  things  heretofore  was  in 
Washington,  and  that,  as  his  regular  attorney,  Mr.  Carroll 
had  fixed  upon  me  to  prepare  the  instrument.  I  did  so, 
and  in  the  codicil  took  especial  care  that  it  should  have  no 
prospective  operation,  that  it  should  not  protect  itself 
even;  so  that  while,  if  (as  I  believed  he  was)  Mr.  Carroll 
was  competent  to  execute  it,  it  would  be  binding  upon  his 
heirs  and  legatees,  they  would  run  no  risk  in  disputing  it 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  295 

on  the  ground  of  his  incompetency.  The  fact  of  competency 
was  one,  to  the  investigation  of  which  I  was  determined 
that  the  codicil  should  interpose  no  obstacle.  In  all  this 
I  was  influenced  by  a  wish  to  act  fairly  between  all  the  parties. 
What  dispositions  had  been  previously  made  of  his  property 
by  Mr.  Carroll  I  knew  not,  nor  could  I  anticipate  any 
objections  that  the  codicil  might  be  subject  to,  unless  those 
arising  out  of  Mr.  Carroll's  mental  capacity  at  the  time. 
That  he  was  imbecile  was,  I  knew,  asserted  by  some.  I 
did  not  believe  it,  however.  Still  I  would  have  preferred 
that  the  codicil  should  have  been  prepared  by  another  than 
myself,  and  I  drew  it  with  reluctance,  and  under  a  sense 
of  professional  obligation.  My  refusing  would  have  merely 
devolved  the  task  on  another,  and  one,  too,  perhaps,  who, 
without  my  feeling  of  friendship  to  all  concerned,  would 
have  made  the  instrument  in  all  respects  more  exceptionable 
than  it  was.  I  therefore  drew  the  last  codicil  of  Mr.  Car 
roll's  will.  Hinc  illae  lachrymae.  I  immediately  wrote  to 
Charles  Harper  what  had  been  done  by  me,  explaining  to 
him  all  the  circumstances.  I  told  other  gentlemen,  the 
friends  of  Charles  Carroll,  Jr.  of  Homewood.  I  made  no- 
secret  of  the  codicil.  All  this  trouble  I  took,  anticipating 
future  objections  and  desirous  to  let  the  true  state  of  the 
case  be  understood.  I  disliked  having  to  draw  the  instru 
ment  and  did  it  only  because  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  prepare: 
it  when  requested.  Never  for  a  moment  did  I  believe 
that  I  had  violated  one  of  the  obligations  of  friendship  in 
what  I  had  done. 

"On  the  return  of  Charles  Harper  from  France,  I  told' 
him  all  about  the  codicil,  nor  did  he  say  one  word  from  which 
I  could  infer  that  he  was  displeased  with  me  on  account  of 
it.  On  the  contrary  our  friendship  was,  if  anything,  more 
intimate  than  ever  during  the  year  1832.  I  designed  the 


296  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

addition  to  his  house  at  Oakland.  I  was  constantly  there, 
took  my  child  there,  and  when  I  became  engaged  to  be 
married  to  my  present  wife,  Miss  Claiborne,  he  was  for  a 
long  time  the  only  confidant  that  I  had.  With  Charles 
Carroll,  his  cousin,  I  was  on  equally  good  terms,  though  he, 
too,  knew  I  had  prepared  the  codicil,  because  I  told  him  so. 
In  the  fall  of  1832  I  went  to  Natchez  and  got  married. 
On  my  return  I  found  Mr.  Carroll  dead.  The  town  was 
full  of  the  will  and  codicil  and  I  found  that  persons  had 
said  that,  considering  my  intimacy  with  the  Harpers,  I 
•ought  not  to  have  drawn  the  last  codicil.  I  saw  Charles 
Harper,  however,  whose  wife  was  in  Charleston,  and  al 
though  he  did  think,  as  he  now  said,  that  I  should  not  have 
drawn  it,  yet  he  explicitly  declared  that  it  made  no  change 
in  his  feelings.  It  is  true  I  could  not  understand  why  he 
should  now  think  otherwise  than  he  had  done  when  I  just 
told  him  of  the  codicil — but  so  it  was.  We  were  now  at 
Annapolis  together,  and  as  intimate  as  ever.  We  went  up 
the  Potomac  together,  slept  in  the  same  bed,  and  our  friend 
ship  knew  apparently  no  change.  In  the  spring  of  1833 
Mrs.  Charles  Harper  returned  home  from  Charleston,  and 
I  called  upon  her.  I  told  Harper  I  would  take  my  wife  to 
visit  her.  He  said  she  owed  the  first  visit  to  my  wife  and 
would  pay  it.  She  did  not,  and  when  I  met  Harper  he 
apologized  and  made  excuses  for  the  delay.  At  last  con 
versation  led  in  the  fall  of  1833  to  the  subject  of  the  inter 
course  between  our  wives,  when  Harper  said  that  his  wife 
viewed  my  drawing  the  codicil  differently  from  what  he 
•did  and  was  offended,  but  that  he  hoped  it  would  wear  away 
in  time  and  all  would  go  right.  I  ought  to  mention  that  on 
my  return  from  Natchez,  the  executors  of  Mr.  Carroll  had 
sent  me  a  retaining  fee  of  $100  in  the  suit  then  pending 
between  them  and  the  legatees  of  Mr.  Carroll,  Harper 
-among  the  rest.  I  declined  receiving  it,  returned  it,  and 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  297 

excused  myself  from  interfering  in  a  cause  where  my  friends 
were  to  be  my  opponents.  This  was  a  loss  to  me  of  about 
$1,500  or  $2,000.  I  will  also  mention  that  I  had  met  Mrs. 
Harper  but  once,  and  then  she  was  freezing  cold  to  me. 
The  suit  commenced  soon  after  Mr.  Carroll's  death  has 
just  been  terminated  by  compromise.  The  sanity  and 
competency  of  Mr.  Carroll  have  just  been  admitted.  The 
will  and  the  codicils  have  been  proved;  and  at  all  events  the 
instruments  that  I  have  prepared  were  executed  by  one  of 
sound  and  disposing  mind  in  the  view  of  the  world.  So 
far  I  am  satisfied.  But  this  is  nothing  to  me.  The  friend 
ship  of  early  life  is  broken  up.  Ever  since  the  return  of 
Mrs.  Harper  from  Carolina  the  manner  of  her  husband 
towards  me  has  been  changing,  and  we  are  now  wholly 
estranged.  I  told  him  to  tell  her,  in  the  hope  of  propitiat- 
ing  her,  that  I  was  sorry  I  had  prepared  the  codicil —  not  that 
I  thought  it  right  for  me  to  do  so  but  because  I  was  sorry 
that  any  instrument  prepared  by  me  should  be  a  subject  of 
anxiety  or  discontent  to  my  friends,  and  I  told  him  further 
to  say  all  that  a  gentleman  might  say  to  a  lady,  without 
lowering  himself,  to  make  her  satisfied.  But  in  vain.  Ever 
since  her  return,  as  I  have  said,  the  breach  has  been  widen 
ing,  and  the  bosom  friends  of  years  are  now  separated, 
perhaps  forever.  I  attribute  it  to  Mrs.  H.  I  cannot  think 
it  is  H's  fault.  He  has  sacrificed  his  friend  to  his  wife; 
and  if  his  wife  demanded  the  sacrifice  he  could  not  do  other 
wise.  I  feel  most  deeply  the  loss  of  his  friendship.  I  can 
not  supply  his  place.  Never  did  I  intentionally  violate  one 
tie  of  friendship,  never  forget  an  obligation.  His  conduct 
showed  he  did  not  think  that  I  had  done  so,  until  other 
influences  than  his  own  good  feelings  worked  upon  him, 
and  he  became  to  me  an  altered  man.  I  cannot  bear  him 
malice,  though  I  think  he  has  wronged  me.  I  can  but  wish 
him  well.  I  hardly  think  his  heart  acquits  him." 


298  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

This  friendship  was  the  cordial  "drop  that  made  the 
nauseous  draught  of  life  go  down."  The  fact  is,  this  was 
one  of  the  cases  of  a  woman's  jealousy  of  the  friendship  of 
her  husband  before  their  marriage.  Mrs  Harper  took 
advantage  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Latrobe  had  written  the 
codicil  to  Mr.  Carroll's  will  to  break  off  the  friendship  be 
tween  her  husband  and  him,  which  was  unquestionably  of 
the  closest  character.  Their  letters  to  each  other  show  how 
intimate  they  were,  and  how  devoted  to  each  other;  but 
Harper's  marriage  resulted  in  a  breach.  In  this  connection, 
I  find  among  the  correspondence  some  letters  from  Mrs. 
Chiffelle,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Harper,  in  which  she  demands 
a  picture  of  Charles  Harper,  claiming  it  as  her  property. 
Mr.  Latrobe  replies  that  the  picture  is  his — that  it  had  been 
hanging  on  his  walls  since  1828.  Charles  Harper  apparently 
died  in  1836-37,  and  it  would  seem  reasonable  that  if  this 
property  belonged  to  Mrs.  Chiffelle,  she  would  have  de 
manded  it  during  his  life,  as  they  were  estranged  in  1833-34. 
Mrs.  Chiffelle  claimed  that  the  picture  had  been  left  with 
Mr.  Latrobe  in  order  to  enable  him  to  make  a  copy  of  it. 
The  result  of  this  controversy  was  that  Mr.  Latrobe  gave 
the  picture  to  Mrs.  Harper,  the  mother  of  Charles  Harper. 

After  Mr.  Carroll's  death  the  parties  interested  in  his 
estate  settled  their  differences  by  entering  into  the  agree 
ment  set  forth  below.  The  clause  suggesting  the  possibility 
of  Legislative  action  to  enable  Mrs.  McTavish  to  exercise 
the  right  of  Executrix  was  due  to  the  fact  that  her  husband 
was  a  citizen  of  Great  Britain,  a  Scotchman,  and  had  never 
been  naturalized.  As  after  marriage  the  wife  became  a 
citizen  of  the  country  of  her  husband,  it  became  necessary 
that  Mr.  McTavish  should  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States.  On  February  24, 1834,  he  accompanied  Mr.  Latrobe 
to  the  City  Court  and  there  declared  his  intention  to  become 
a  citizen. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  299 

"The  following  are  the  terms  on  which  the  differences 
now  existing  in  reference  to  the  probate  of  the  last  codicil 
to  the  will  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  have  been  adjusted 
by  the  counsel  for  the  respective  parties  who  have  been 
fully  authorized  for  that  purpose: 

"First.  The  caveat  is  to  be  withdrawn  and  the  will  and 
codicils  immediately  probated. 

"Second.  Mrs.  Emily  McTavish  is  to  be  appointed 
sole  executrix  and  should  it  be  found  necessary  to  enable 
her  to  act  as  such,  an  application  with  the  assent  of  all  the 
parties  is  to  be  made  to  the  Legislature  for  a  law  to  authorize 
and  empower  her  to  act,  she  not  to  charge  any  commission, 
but  not  to  be  subjected  to  any  expense. 

"Third.  Mr.  McTavish  and  Doctor  Stewart  to  re 
nounce  the  trusts  under  the  will  and  codicil  except  as  to 
the  Caton  branch  of  the  Carroll  family. 

"Fourth.  The  deeds  from  Charles  Carroll  of  C.  to  Mrs. 
Emily  McTavish  and  to  Charles  Carroll  of  Homewood  for 
parts  of  Doughoragan  Manor  to  be  confirmed  either  now  or 
hereafter,  if  required,  by  the  several  parties  to  this  agree 
ment,  or  their  representatives. 

"Fifth.  The  claims  of  Mr.  Charles  C.  Harper,  Mr. 
Charles  Carroll  of  Homewood,  and  Mrs.  Emily  McTavish, 
and  their  respective  branches  of  the  family  for  negroes,  &c. 
received  from  the  testator  since  the  last  codicil  aforesaid 
made  in  1831,  as  also  the  claims  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McTavish 
for  the  notes  of  Charles  Carroll  of  C.  for  $14,000  and  the 
contracts  in  reference  to  the  building  on  the  Folly  Farm, 
the  materials,  hauling  and  so  forth  not  yet  paid  or  settled 
for  by  the  estate  of  Charles  Carroll  of  C.,  to  be  referred  to 
Judges  Stevenson  Archer  and  Richard  B.  Magruder  to  be 
decided  by  them,  and  should  they  differ,  they  are  to  choose 
a  third  person,  and  then  the  award  of  the  majority  of  the 
three  to  be  final  between  the  parties. 


300  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"Sixth.  The  award  of  Richard  Caton  to  be  opened  and 
the  subject  matter  of  it  to  be  referred  to  referees  to  be 
chosen  in  the  manner  hereinafter  specified.  The  referees 
to  act  under  the  same  instructions  and  authority  as  the 
former  referees  who  made  said  award  were  instructed  and 
authorized  to  do,  and  as  if  Mr.  Carroll's  letters  to  the  former 
referees  had  been  directed  to  them.  A  case  to  be  docketed 
against  the  executrix  and  this  reference  to  be  under  a  rule 
of  Court,  to  which  the  terms  in  this  stipulation  are  to  apply. 
The  award  as  it  now  stands  shall  not  be  impugned  or  impared 
by  this  assent  to  open  it,  should  this  reference  by  any  means 
be  frustrated,  but  it  is  to  remain  in  full  force  and  operation 
as  it  now  does  or  ever  did.  The  referees  are  to  make  their 
award  during  the  present  year;  should  they  not,  then  this 
reference  to  be  void.  The  referees  are  to  be  paid  equally 
by  the  parties  for  their  services.  The  counsel  on  each 
side  are  to  name  two  persons,  from  whom  each  is  to  select 
one,  the  two  thus  selected  to  be  the  referees,  and  if  they 
differ,  then  they  to  choose  a  third  person  and  the  award  of 
the  majority  to  be  final. 

"Mrs.  McTavish  is  not  to  pay  Mr.  Caton's  award,  nor 
do  anything  to  give  validity  to  said  award  until  a  new  award 
is  made  or  Mr.  Caton  recovers  his  claim  by  a  suit  at  law  in 
the  event  of  no  award  taking  place. 

"Seventh.  In  the  litigation  or  examination  before  the 
arbitrators  of  the  matter  referred,  the  questions  involved 
in  the  several  issues  are  not  to  be  agitated.  In  other  words 
it  will  not  be  contended  in  opposition  to  the  claims  of 
Richard  Caton  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McTavish  or  any  of  them 
or  those  of  any  members  of  their  families  against  Mr. 
Carroll's  estate  that  Charles  Carroll  of  C.  was  incompetent, 
or  that  he  was  subject  to  the  undue  dominion  or  under  the 
undue  influences  of  any  one,  or  that  he  was  urged  by  any 
importunities  which  he  was  too  weak  to  resist. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  301 

"Eighth.  It  is  expressly  agreed  and  understood  that 
no  attempt  shall  be  made  by  any  of  the  parties  to  this 
agreement  to  enforce  the  forfeiture  under  the  said  last 
codicil  for  litigating  before  said  referees  any  of  the  matters 
referred  to  them  by  and  under  this  agreement,  or  for  any 
thing  that  has  occured  up  to  this  time. 

"Ninth.  Should  any  further  points  of  difference  arise, 
which  the  counsel  on  either  side  signing  this  agreement 
should  deem  to  have  been  omitted  in  the  aforegoing  stipula 
tions,  the  same  are  to  be  decided  either  by  the  arbitrators 
now  agreed  on  in  this  agreement,  or  by  a  common  friend  or 
friends  as  provided  for  in  the  will  of  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton. 

Baltimore, 

12  Feby.  1834.  Reverdy  Johnson, 

John  V.  L.  McMahon, 
Charles  Carroll. 

"  Charles  C.  Harper  for  himself  and  for  Emily  L.  Harper 
and  Robert  G.  Harper. 

Richard  H.  Bayard, 
J.  Lee, 

Fred'k.  A.  Schley, 
Jno.  Nelson, 
W.  S.  Heath, 
John   Glenn, 

Rich'd.  Caton,  for  himself  and 
Louisa  Caton,  Marchioness  of  Carmarthen, 
Mary  Caton 

John  McTavish  for  himself  and  as 
Attorney  for  Mary  Ann,  Marchioness  of 
Wellesley,  and  Elizabeth  Caton, 
Emily  MacTavish. 
True  Copy,  Test, 

Thos.  Kell,  Clerk." 


CHAPTER  XII 

TRIP  TO  NEW  ORLEANS  BY  SEA  AND  RETURN  BY  LAND,  1834 — 
RAIDERS  AND  NATCHEZ  TRIP — NEW  ORLEANS  AND  THE 
QUADROON  BALL — TRIP  IN  1835  TO  NEW  ORLEANS  AND 
RETURN  WITH  WIFE  TO  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS. 

"The  health  of  Mrs.  Latrobe  after  the  birth  of  Ferdinand, 
our  first  born,  became  precarious  and  comparatively  feeble, 
and  Dr.  Chatard,  our  family  physician,  advised  a  sea 
voyage  and  a  winter  in  the  South.  We  embarked  at  New 
York  in  the  good  ship  'Arkansas'  in  December  1834,  and 
after  a  pleasant  voyage,  for  the  season,  and  a  stay  for  a 
short  time  in  New  Orleans,  reached  'Soldier's  Retreat,' 
my  brother-in-law's  plantation.  On  her  arrival  here  my 
wife  had  a  severe  attack  of  Cholera.  As  soon  as  she  was 
out  of  danger,  I  returned  to  Baltimore  via  New  Orleans, 
from  which  city  I  traveled  by  land,  after  crossing  Lake 
Pont  char  train,  to  Weldon  in  a  stage  coach,  and  from  Weldon 
to  Baltimore  by  stage.  I  was  twelve  days  on  the  road 
from  New  Orleans.  In  a  volume  of  manuscript  which  I 
have  labelled  "Odds  and  Ends,"  I  have  collected  letters 
and  journals  giving  a  detailed  account  of  my  visits  to 
Virginia  Springs  and  to  Mississippi." 

In  these  "Odds  and  Ends"  I  find  the  following  descrip 
tion  of  his  departure  from  Natchez,  the  journey  down  the 
Mississippi  in  a  steamboat,  the  story  of  the  destruction 
of  the  Natchez  tribe  of  Indians,  and  a  description  of  the 
City  of  New  Orleans. 

"November  1834,  Natchez.  The  leaves  are  falling  from 
the  trees  in  thousands,  in  consequence  of  a  frost,  and  make 

302 


CINCINNATI  (LOOKING  UP  THE  OHIO),  1832 
Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Lairobe 


.8L 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  303 

a  melancholy  rustle  as  they  fall.  There  is  not  a  breath  of 
wind  stirring.  The  sun  shines  brightly  on  the  variegated 
foliage  of  these  huge  forest  trees,  and  the  air  has  a  crisp 
and  invigorating  tone.  It  is  such  a  time  as  this,  that  makes 
one  acknowledge  the  truth  of  the  beautiful  and  poetical 
name  which  we  give  to  this  season,  when  we  entitle  it  the 
"Fall  of  the  Year." 

"Eighteen  miles  below  Natchez  we  stopped  at  Mr. 
Hutchins,  my  wife's  maternal  uncle,  to  take  in  a  quantity 
of  cotton,  which  was  piled  on  the  banks  waiting  for  a  con 
veyance  to  New  Orleans.  I  availed  myself  of  the  opportu 
nity  to  call  on  Mr.  Hutchins,  and,  while  the  boat  laid  along 
shore,  had  a  most  interesting  conversation  with  him.  He 
is  an  amiable  and  intelligent  man,  of  upwards  of  fifty  years 
of  age,  and  was  the  first  white  man  who  was  born  within 
the  limits  of  the  state.  He  has  been  successively  under  the 
French,  Spanish,  English  and  American  rule,  and  has  ex 
perienced  all  the  perilous  experiences  of  a  new  settler  in  a 
new  country.  His  father  emigrated  from  Carolina  to  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  located  himself  near  the  village 
of  "White  Apple, "  one  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  Natchez 
tribes  of  Indians.  For  several  years  the  number  of  white 
people  in  the  neighborhood  did  not  exceed  thirteen,  and 
there  were  around  them  one  thousand  Indians  to  every  white 
man.  After  the  birth  of  Mr.  Hutchins  in  1774,  the  country 
still  remained  very  thinly  settled,  and  it  was  interesting  to 
hear  him  speak  of  the  time  during  the  last  revolution. 

"New  Orleans  was  then  a  paltry  village,  and  Natchez 
had  no  existence ;  and  the  upper  Mississippi  was  considered 
a  wilderness  peopled  by  savages,  who  would  not  permit 
any  intercourse  with  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  or  the  country 
about  the  Alleghanies  in  that  direction.  The  only  flour 
which  could  be  procured  came  from  France,  neatly  put  up 


304  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

in  water  tight  casks  lined  with  paper,  and  was  sold  readily 
at  $25  per  barrel  or  cask.  Tea  was  $10  a  pound,  coffee 
and  sugar  750  per  pound;  salt  $8  per  barrel,  and  other 
things  in  proportion.  Freight  to  New  Orleans  was  in  those 
days  at  the  rate  of  $5.  per  barrel,  and  the  length  of  the 
voyage  was  from  30  to  40  days.  Everything  was  scarce, 
excepting  venison  and  wild  turkey — to  say  nothing  of  bear 
meat.  There  was  food  for  everybody,  if  they  were  content 
with  these.  Beyond  this  nothing  could  be  obtained,  ex 
cept  at  seasons,  and  at  exorbitant  prices.  But  little  land 
was  cleared,  and  Indian  corn  was  not  yet  planted  to  any 
extent.  Even  this  common  grain  was  a  rarity  and  a  luxury. 
The  fields  had  to  be  watched  day  and  night  as  the  ears 
approached  perfection,  to  preserve  them  from  the  devasta 
tion  of  the  Indians,  who  took  with  no  affectation  of  secrecy 
whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands  on  of  the  new  product. 
Even  when  the  settler  succeeded  in  gathering  some  ears  and 
boiling  them  for  his  table,  if  an  Indian  was  seen  approaching 
during  a  meal,  the  dish  was  hastily  hidden,  for  the  savage 
knew  no  ceremony  and  practiced  no  politeness.  He  helped 
himself,  unbidden  at  the  board,  the  weak  hands  around 
which  not  daring  to  provoke  his  anger  by  refusal. 

"The  war  which  raged  from  1776  to  1783  gave  rise  to  no 
hostilities  on  the  banks  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  and,  ex 
cepting  a  single  incident,  peace,  the  most  profound,  pre 
vailed  during  the  entire  period  in  this  remote  region. 

"One  bright  spring  morning,  while  my  informant,  Mr. 
Hutchins,  was  still  an  infant,  the  unaccustomed  sound  of 
a  horse's  hoofs  was  heard  in  the  recesses  of  the  forest, 
near  White  Apple  Valley,  and  soon  after  a  troop  of  white 
men,  mounted  on  sorry  horses  and  clothed  in  various 
guises,  but  well  armed  with  sword  and  rifle,  were  seen 
urging  their  way  along  the  narrow  path  until  they  emerged 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1S03-1S91  305 

in  the  little  clearing  around  the  dwelling.  The  father  of 
the  family  was  away,  his  wife  and  her  children,  with  a 
number  of  negroes,  which  last  constituted  his  wealth  and  made 
him  here  a  rich  man,  were  left  without  their  usual  protector. 
Mrs.  Hutchins,  more  astonished  than  alarmed  at  first  by 
the  coming  of  the  strangers,  spoke  to  their  leader  in  terms 
of  kindness  and  courtesy,  and  tendered  him  food  for  him 
self  and  his  companions.  She  was  answered  by  loud  de 
nunciations,  in  which  her  husband  was  charged  with  being 
a  British  subject,  and  liable  in  person  and  property  to  the 
Americans.  The  rude  and  ruffian  troop  yelled  their  ap 
probation,  and  in  the  name  of  Congress  proceeded  to  make 
themselves  master  of  all  the  valuables  they  could  find,  and 
particularly  the  slaves,  who  were  at  once  placed  in  strict 
confinement.  Nothing  was  spared  that  could  be  carried  off, 
much  was  destroyed,  whose  bulk  prevented  it  from  being 
turned  to  account.  After  some  hours  of  stay,  the  troops 
rode  off,  having  reduced  Mr.  Hutchins  to  poverty,  and,  pass 
ing  through  all  the  settlement  in  the  same  way,  vanished 
as  suddenly  as  they  had  appeared. 

"This,  it  is  true,  is  but  the  old  story  of  a  border  foray, 
committed  by  land  pirates,  who  at  this  period  plundered 
indiscriminately  on  either  side,  under  the  flag  that  suited 
them  best  at  the  moment,  and  which  it  cost  them  no  scruples 
of  conscience  and  subjected  them  to  no  punishment  to 
assume.  Nor  should  I  have  told  the  tale  here  but  for  the 
sequel  which  followed.  Ten  years  after  the  robbery  just 
described,  Mrs.  Hutchins  was  accosted  on  a  street  of  New 
Orleans  by  a  man  dressed  in  rags  and  bearing  many  marks 
of  wretchedness,  sickness  and  poverty.  He  held  out  his 
hat  for  alms  like  a  beggar  and  told  some  incoherent  story  of 
distress.  His  strongly  marked  features  caused  her  at  once 
to  recognize  him  as  "Willing,"  the  border  plunderer,  and 


306  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

she  accosted  him  by  name.  She  would  have  given  him  alms 
in  silence,  but  she  could  not,  and,  as  she  dropped  the  money 
into  his  hat,  she  told  him  it  came  from  the  same  hand,  from 
which  he  had  forced  the  silver  spoons  that  she  had  prayed 
him  to  leave  as  a  relic  of  the  family,  ten  years  before,  near 
the  White  Apple  Village.  She  repeated  her  words,  when  she 
saw  the  shame  and  confusion  of  the  humbled  outlaw,  who 
then  received  good  for  evil  when  he  probably  least  expected 
it.  Before  she  returned  home,  she  learned  that  he  had 
perished  in  the  street.  The  family  is  still  in  existence,  and 
hold  a  most  respectable  rank  in  one  of  the  Northern  States. 

"From  Mr.  Hutchins  I  heard  the  story  of  the  destruction 
of  the  Natchez  tribe  of  Indians.  I  had  heard  it  before 
related,  but  forgot  the  details,  and  I  now  give  Mr.  Hutchins' 
narrative.  He  had  it  from  his  father,  in  whose  lifetime 
it  took  place,  and  who  got  the  particulars  from  the  Indians 
themselves. 

"When  the  French  were  in  possession  of  the  highland 
now  named  Ellis  Cliffs,  the  bluffs  at  the  present  site  of 
Natchez,  they  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  chief  of  the 
White  Apple  Village  which  is  situated  about  six  miles  from 
the  former  place  and  some  distance  from  the  banks  of  the 
River.  He  was  a  kind  old  man,  and  well  disposed  to  the 
Whites;  and  he  had  great  influence  in  the  Natchez  tribe  of 
Indians,  to  which  he  belonged.  He  had  a  daughter,  a 
warm  hearted  and  beautiful  girl,  who  became  attached  to 
a  French  officer  who  was  stationed  at  the  Cliffs,  and,  as  the 
story  goes,  he  returned  her  affection.  For  some  time  the 
French  and  Indians  lived  in  great  harmony;  but  the  French 
at  last  became  desirous  of  acquiring  the  cleared  land  of  the 
Indians.  The  chief  agreed  to  surrender  the  land,  after  they 
had  harvested  their  crop.  Not  content  with  this  concession, 
the  French  drove  the  Indians  away  and  took  possession 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  307 

of  their  land  and  crops.  A  great  council  was  held  by  the 
Natchez,  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws,  at  which  it  was  agreed 
to  attack  the  French.  The  time  was  fixed;  and  to  each 
tribe  was  given  a  bundle  of  rods.  One  of  these  was  to  be 
drawn  each  day,  and  when  the  last  was  drawn,  the  tribe  was 
to  set  forth  to  attack  the  French.  The  daughter  of  White 
Apple  had  assigned  to  her  the  duty  of  drawing  the  rods. 
She  warned  the  French  through  her  lover,  but  they  paid 
no  attention  to  her  warning.  She  saw  that  they  made  no 
preparation  to  meet  the  threatened  attack.  She  determined 
to  draw  two  rods  instead  of  one,  to  hasten  the  moment  for 
the  movement  of  her  tribe,  hoping  that  the  French  would 
be  able  to  resist  the  assault  of  a  single  tribe,  and  thus  escape 
destruction.  When  the  bundle  of  rods  was  exhausted,  the 
Natchez  tribe  began  its  march.  Finding  no  one  at  the 
rendezvous  they  fell  upon  the  French  and  massacred  them. 
The  other  tribes  arrived  the  next  day,  and  seeing  the  Natchez 
had  not  kept  faith  with  them  and  were  inclined  to  boast  of 
their  action  in  destroying  the  French  without  their  help, 
they  fell  upon  them  and  annihilated  the  entire  tribe  of  the 
Natchez,  who  from  that  day  have  been  extinguished. 

"I  have  seen  many  Choctaws  on  this  journey,  prowling 
about  New  Orleans  and  Natchez.  Two  years  since  I  saw 
the  tribe  on  its  way  to  the  Mississippi,  the  other  side.  The 
individuals  I  now  meet  are  those  who  have  been  to  their 
new  home  and  returned.  They  are  generally  displeased 
with  it,  and  are  wandering  off  in  various  directions.  Many 
persons  think  that  in  a  few  years  the  tribe  will  be  extinct, 
and  its  members  dispersed  among  other  tribes  or  living 
about  the  settlements  of  the  whites,  finding  an  early  death, 
the  result  of  intemperance  and  improvidence. 


308  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

NEW  ORLEANS  AS  MR.  LATROBE  SAW  IT  IN  1834. 

Upon  gaining  the  land  once  more,  I  found  myself  opposite 
the  lower  end  of  the  vegetable  market,  a  long  and  imposing 
building,  supported  on  columns  rough  cast,  and  forming  the 
shape  of  a  "V"  between  two  streets  which  have  intersected 
each  other  very  obliquely.  Immediately  in  front  of  the 
levee,  or  raised  mound  interposed  between  the  river  at 
high  water  and  the  City,  a  crowd  of  men  and  boys  were 
engaged  in  a  game  of  ball,  which  gave  rise  to  every  species 
of  vociferation.  Among  others  were  the  Indians,  their  legs 
bare  and  a  coarse  sheet  on  their  shoulders  which  did  not 
cover  the  seat  of  honor.  A  cloth  apron  about  eight  inches 
deep  scarcely  answered  to  make  them  absolutely  decent. 
Numbers  of  people  were  around,  and  the  whole  scene  was 
unique  for  Sunday  afternoon.  Further  on  I  came  to  the 
meat  market,  a  building  of  excellent  proportions  formed  by 
colonnades  of  square  piers  and  arches.  They  were  busily 
engaged  in  sweeping  both  markets,  as  I  passed  along,  pre 
paratory  for  business  tomorrow  morning.  After  pursuing 
La  Rue  De  Levee  until  I  came  to  the  public  square,  I  crossed 
and  had  before  me  the  Cathedral,  the  Calaboose  and  the 
buildings  in  which  the  Courts  are  held.  The  Cathedral 
is  a  venerable  looking  building,  for  time  and  the  climate  have 
discolored  the  plaster  with  which  its  bricks  are  covered.  It 
has  a  steeple  and  two  towers,  and  its  general  effect,  although 
it  will  not  bear  architectural  criticism,  is  good.  The  Cala 
boose  and  Court  House  are  on  the  other  side  of  it,  match 
each  other  and,  with  the  Cathedral,  exhibit  to  the  coup 
d'oeil  quite  an  imposing  aggregation  of  Law,  Religion  and 
Punishment.  Immediately  in  front  of  the  Cathedral  on 
the  levee,  vendors  of  various  sorts  of  goods  are  holding 
open  market,  shouting  forth  in  French  and  English  and  the 
negro  patois  the  merits  of  their  goods  to  passersby,  while 


NEAR  THE  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS 
Painted  by  John  ff.  B.  Latrobe 


W<iuld_  ytu  Itnow  wnere  health  may  be  ever  found 
Till  Time  in  It  is  course  Engulph  her 

Tis  in  that  bright  spot  thai  the  kills  surrount! 
Tkefotint  of  the  famed  White  Sulphur. 

(John  ff.  B.  Lairobe 


.1 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  309 

the  seven  bells  of  the  metropolitan  edifice  were  summoning 
the  faithful  to  their  prayers.  In  all  the  streets  abound 
cafe's;  and  barrooms,  it  would  be  unjust  to  call  them  grog 
shops,  were  open  and  in  the  receipt  of  a  full  and  noisy 
custom.  Rum  and  gin,  Monongahela,  and  Tom  and  Jerry 
here  live  in  palaces;  and  the  genius  of  Intemperance  driven 
from  many  of  her  dirty  altars  in  the  streets,  alleys  and 
cul  de  sacs  of  the  Northern  Cities  may  well  console  her 
self  with  the  taste,  elegance  and  refinement  of  her  shrines 
in  New  Orleans.  The  drinking  room  is  large,  the  ceiling 
high,  a  handsome  lamp  or  chandelier  hangs  from  the  midst,  a 
whole  army  of  bottles  with  contents  of  all  colors  line  the 
shelves  in  close  array  all  around,  and  the  counter  with  its 
marble  slab  or  mahogany  board  decked  off  with  shining 
brass  work  and  full  decanters,  completes  an  arrangement  for 
beastly  gratification,  such  as  is  reserved  for  New  Orleans,  to 
an  unequalled  extent.  But  what  is  this  in  the  public  square? 
Soldiers  in  a  gay  and  tasteful  uniform  are  passing  to  and 
fro,  and  sundry  thumps  upon  a  bass  drum  speak  martially 
to  the  ear.  "  Oh,  nothing  at  all,  Sir."  "The  weather  is  fine, 
and  a  volunteer  company  is  going  to  church,  I  suppose." 
"Nothing  less  true,  they  are  going  to  have  a  parade,  which 
will  end  in  taking  refreshments  at  the  Cafe  Des  Citoyens 
there  at  the  corner."  "Ah,  well,  that  is  all,  is  it?  A 
pleasant  time  I  wish  them. "  "Allans!  what  next,  you  need 
not  look  with  such  astonishment."  Nothing  is  more  common 
than  the  billard  tables  which  are  in  constant  use  today,  and 
that  shoemaker  there  whom  you  see  in  his  shop  stretching  his 
arms  so  vigorously  over  his  last  is  doing  what  all  around 
him  are  doing — working  on  the  Sabbath.  Even  will  not 
the  shoemakers  be  idle,  an  industrious  people  like  this. 
St.  Crispin's  servants  ought  to  keep  quiet  for  one  day  in  the 
seven  at  all  events.  Faith,  these  performances,  though 


310  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

brandy  may  be  drunk,  and  bons  bons  sold  or  bargains  made, 
or  soldiers  drilled,  make  something  of  the  picturesque.  Ha, 
what's  that  fine  figure,  a  beautiful  foot,  an  ankle  like  an 
angel,  an  air  quite  distingue,  and  all  so  strange  and  character 
istic,  so  Spanish,  with  a  long  black  veil  over  her  head. 
"Aliens!  we  will  pass  her,  she  is  a  mulatto."  "Not  at  all, 
don't  let  her  hear  you,  that  is  a  quadroon."  "A  quadroon! 
Well,  I'll  know  better  next  time.  And  are  those  quadroons 
on  high  there  on  the  balcony  that  projects  from  that  Spanish 
looking  house  with  ornamental  cornice  and  window  frames 
and  flat  roof?  One  of  them  has  a  veil,  and  all  that  I  see 
are  darker  than  her  we  have  just  passed."  "Heavens,  no! 
They  are  Creoles,  native  white,  Spanish  and  French  mixed, 
born  in  the  country,  very  good  society.  No,  indeed,  they 
are  not  quadroon ,  you  must  make  the  distinction . "  "Faith , 
so  I  see,  and  here  are  more  balconies,  and  more  females, 
and  there  sits  a  solitary  cigar  smoker  on  a  balcony  by  himself, 
and  in  another,  look  up  at  it,  two  old  ladies.  Quadroons?" 
"No,  they  are  mulattoes. "  Well,  be  it  so,  the  two  old 
mulattoes  are  smoking  cigars,  under  that  pent  house  that 

projects  from  the  edge  of  the  tiles 

".  .  .  .  The  City  of  New  Orleans  to  the  north  of 
Canal  Street.  In  the  City  there  are  whole  squares  filled  with 
houses  built  during  the  time  of  the  French  and  Spaniards — 
low  browed  dwellings,  looking  as  if  partly  intended  for  de 
fense,  with  entrances  through  courts.  You  want  no  guide 
to  tell  you  that  they  are  not  American  or  English.  They  give 
a  character  to  the  quarter  in  which  they  are  that  cannot  be 
mistaken.  They  abound  in  the  picturesque,  and  were  I 
to  remain  a  long  tune  here,  nothing  would  give  me  more 
pleasure  than  to  take  views  down  many  of  the  streets  that 
I  passed  through  today.  The  doors  that  I  passed  by  were 
generally  occupied  by  the  female  part  of  the  inmates,  and 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  311 

they  were,  in  most  cases,  quadroons,  or  French  of  the  in 
ferior  class,  for  the  fashion  of  this  quarter  of  New  Orleans 
by  no  means  corresponded  with  its  picturesque  appearance. 
We  went  to  the  Catholic  burying  ground.  The  tombs  here 
are  peculiar  to  the  place.  No  grave  could  be  dug  of  the 
usual  depth  without  coming  to  water,  and  to  obviate  this 
difficulty  in  the  sepulchre  of  the  dead,  the  coffin  is  laid  upon 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  a  strong  structure  of  brick 
built  around  it.  This  is  then  plastered  and  whitewashed. 
In  some  there  are  several  bodies,  and  in  others  only  one. 
On  one  side  of  the  yard  there  is  a  range  of  catacombs,  like 
the  cells  of  a  honey  comb,  in  which  the  coffin  is  placed,  and 
the  mouth  closed  with  a  stone  containing  an  inscription. 
I  was  informed  that  these  cells  were  purchased  for  various 
lengths  of  time  varying  from  1  to  10  years,  and  some  were 
owned  in  perpetuity.  When  the  lease  expired,  the  tenant, 
or  what  remained  of  him  was  removed,  when  the  feelings  of 
the  relatives  could  not  be  shocked  by  the  idea  of  his  being 
burned  instead  of  buried.  The  bones  or  remains  are  then 
piled  together  and  burned.  As  Col.  Hamilton  says,  all 
the  people  here  are  burned,  and  then  the  premises  are 
ready  for  a  new  tenant.  One  of  the  cells  was  opened  this 
evening. 

"We  passed  the  French  theatre,  a  large  and  extensive 
range  of  buildings,  containing  also  the  City  Assembly 
Room.  At  the  further  extremity  is  the  home  in  which  the 
quadroon  balls  are  held,  and  the  tickets  to  both  being  the 
same  price,  the  holder  of  a  ticket  to  the  white  ball,  when 
tired,  goes  out,  and  exchanges  with  someone  who  has  been 
among  the  ladies  of  the  mixed  blood  and  who  gives  his 
ticket  to  get  into  the  crowd  where  the  taint  is  moral,  not 
physical. 

"From  the  theatre  we  went  to  the  French  coffee  house, 


312  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

or,  as  the  sign  over  the  door  proclaims  it  to  be,  the  "New 
Exchange. "  It  is  a  very  large  room,  with  two  columns  in 
the  centre  which  support  the  ceiling.  From  the  last  are 
suspended  four  splendid  chandeliers  that  make  a  blaze  of 
light  around  the  appartment.  Around  the  walls  are  the 
usual  notices  of  an  exchange,  sales  arrivals,  departures,  &c. 
A  large  portrait  of  Napoleon  of  full  size  in  oil  is  on  one  side 
of  the  apartment,  with  General  Washington  for  his  vis-a-vis 
on  the  other.  Here  as  elsewhere  is  a  bar  or  counter  where 
the  usual  refreshments  are  to  be  obtained.  The  coffee 
house  has  always  a  crowd  of  frequenters  who  lounge  and 
get  and  retail  the  news — people  from  every  quarter  of  the 
globe  who  are  here  gathered  together  in  the  commercial 
bustle  of  a  great  mart. 

"From  the  coffee  house  I  went  to  a  gaming  house.  It 
was  early  in  the  evening,  and  the  play  had  not  yet  com 
menced  with  any  spirit.  Some  keen  fellows,  however,  had 
set  to  quite  early,  and  I  saw  the  roulette  wheel  in  its  rapid 
motion  and  the  faro  table  with  its  patent  fraud-preventing 
box.  In  one  house  alone  I  counted  six  billiard  tables,  all 
occupied,  and  mostly  with  young  men,  evidently  not  natives, 
who  were  just  acquiring  a  knowledge,  never  contemplated 
by  the  quiet  dominie  of  the  New  England  free  school, 
where  they  received  their  education  which  they  were  sup 
posed  to  avail  themselves  of  in  the  acquisition  of  wealth, 
when  they  were  sent  to  the  unhealthy  regions  of  the  South. 
The  number  of  gambling  houses  in  New  Orleans  is  very  great. 
They  are  countenanced  by  law;  as  if  half  ashamed  of  the 
patronage  that  is  afforded  them,  the  ordinance  of  the  cor 
poration  provides  that  they  shall  not  have  a  door  opening 
from  the  street  into  the  gaming  room,  and  there  could  not 
have  been  furnished  a  better  sign  to  the  property  than  this 
condition,  intended  to  save  appearances.  As  you  pass 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  313 

along  the  Rue  de  Chartres,  you  see  houses  with  wide  and 
open  doors,  within  which  there  is  a  board  partition  forming 
a  vestibule  of  perhaps  six  or  seven  feet  wide.  In  the  parti 
tion  is  a  door,  proper  to  the  gaming  house.  The  clink  of 
money  is  another  sign  here  of  the  proximity  of  one  of  these 
halls,  and  is  a  sound  which,  on  the  night  when  gaming  most 
flourishes,  you  hear  at  every  few  steps  along  the  principal 
streets  of  the  City.  The  keepers  are  generally  Frenchmen, 
who  sit  at  the  tables  with  a  silence  that  is  never  broken, 
and  a  gravity  that  would  become  the  monks  of  La  Trappe. 
During  carnival  the  gamblers  are  most  numerous  and  then 
is  the  harvest  of  the  gaming  houses.  New  Orleans  is  cer 
tainly  a  place  after  its  own  fashion. 

"November  30, 1834 — Meeting  my  friend,  J.  B.  Harrison* 
as  soon  as  I  arrived,  I  agreed  to  dine  with  him  and  some  of 
his  friends.  We  remained  at  the  table  until  it  was  time 
to  go  to  the  American  Theatre,  where  I  saw  Mrs.  Drake 
tear  a  tragedy  into  tatters,  to  the  infinite  delight  of  a 
house  crowded  with  canaille.  The  interior  of  the  theatre 
is  only  tolerable,  the  scenery  better  than  we  are  accustomed 
to  in  the  North,  the  French  being  the  painters  generally. 
The  stage  of  the  City  is  patronized  to  a  considerable  extent 
by  the  corporate  authorities,  for  they  have  passed  ordi 
nances  relating  to  the  etiquette  to  be  preserved,  prohibiting 
any  one  sitting  during  the  performance  with  his  hat  on, 
speaking  loudly,  thumping  violently,  or  in  any  other  manner 
disturbing  or  interfering  with  his  neighbor.  A  copy  of  the 
Ordinance  was  printed  on  the  play  bill,  so  no  one  can  have 
the  excuse  of  ignorance.  After  the  tragedy  Harrison  and 
I  started  off  to  a  Bal  Piece  el  Masque  in  the  Salle  Washington, 

*Mr.  J.  B.  Harrison  was  interested  with  Mr.  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe  in  Colonization, 
in  the  effort  to  solve  the  negro  question.  The  present  Governor  (1916)  of  the 
Philippines  is  his  grandson. 


314  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Rue  St.  Phillippe — in  other  words  a  Quadroon  Ball.  On 
entering  the  room,  which  the  payment  of  $1.00  apiece 
authorized  us  to  do,  I  was  struck  with  the  beauty  and 
brilliancy.  It  was  a  very  large  room  of  an  oblique  shape. 
The  sides  are  rilled  with  alcoves,  alternating  with  mirrors 
and  nicely  painted  and  gilded.  The  outlines  I  have  at 
tempted  on  the  margin.  The  ornaments  are  blue  and 
gold,  and  from  the  ceiling  which  is  well  decorated  there 
hang  five  enormous  chandeliers  blazing  cut  glass  and  gas 
light,  making  a  brilliancy  of  the  noon  day  in  the  ball  room. 
An  orchestra  of  excellent  music  occupied  an  elevated  plat 
form  in  the  middle  of  one  of  the  sides.  An  antechamber 
contained  bars,  and  at  a  further  extremity  of  the  ball  room 
was  a  large  apartment  opening  into  it,  under  the  arches, 
corresponding  to  the  alcoves,  and  similar  to  the  opposite 
arches  leading  into  the  antechamber.  Windows  down  to 
the  floor  led  out  upon  an  iron  balcony  and  looked  out  over 
the  southern  parts  of  the  City.  Here  many  a  tete-a-tete 
and  doubtless  many  an  intrigue  is  carried  on.  The  beauty 
of  the  ball  room  far  exceeds  anything  I  have  seen  in  the 
North  of  similar  character.  It  was  erected  for  the  Quad 
roons,  the  light  mulatto  of  this  country  who,  prohibited  by 
custom  and  law  from  many  of  the  enjoyments  of  the  whites, 
pass  their  life  in  prostitution,  which  is  only  the  more  odious 
because  of  the  decencies  with  which  it  is  surrounded  and 
which  by  long  usage  render  it  less  repugnant  to  the  moral 
sense  and  feeling  than  the  wretched  and  miserable  prac 
tices  of  the  Northern  cities. 

"There  were  about  forty  women  present  of  all  shades, 
from  the  dark  mulatto  to  the  light  quadroon,  whose  person 
bore  no  mark  of  her  descent,  and  whose  degradation  was 
a  matter  of  position  only.  Nearly  all  had  masks,  white 
masks.  Those  who  had  not  were  young  girls,  as  yet  desti- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  315 

tute  of  a  keeper,  and  who,  it  seemed  to  me,  show  their  faces 
as  a  merchant  shows  samples  of  his  wares  to  entice  pur 
chasers.  Some  of  the  women,  but  not  many,  had  fine  forms, 
and  a  few  were  graceful  and  elegant  dames. 

"I  was  informed  that  the  ball  by  no  means  exhibited  the 
handsomest  and  gentlest  of  the  quadroons.  In  the  first 
place,  it  was  the  opening  ball,  to  which  it  was  not  fashionable 
for  them  to  come,  and  again  it  was  more  promiscuous  than 
those  balls  which  they  have,  and  where  a  ticket  is  not  a 
matter  of  purchase,  but  a  favor.  These  last  are  called  society 
balls,  and  the  best  quadroon  society  is  to  be  found  at  them. 
There  are  no  white  women  present,  and  none  of  the  quad 
roons  wear  a  costume,  no  other  disguise  to  the  person  than 
a  domino,  and  on  the  face  a  mask.  The  men  were  generally 
of  very  reputable  appearance,  all  white,  for  quadroon  men 
are  negro,  and  must  be  negroes  in  all  respects.  Their 
sisters  are  the  favored  of  the  family.  Some  of  the  men  who 
took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  evening,  dancing 
in  every  cotillon  and  talking  with  the  girls  in  the  intervals 
of  the  music,  were  past  the  prime  of  life  and  looked  like 
father  and  grandfathers,  but  the  most  part  were  young  men, 
the  majority  of  whom  seemed  to  be  French  and  Spanish. 
Of  course  there  were  men  who  were  only  lookers  on,  but 
enough  took  part  to  keep  the  space  appropriated  to  dancing 
fully  occupied.  There  was  a  waltz  between  every  two  sets, 
and  it  was  really  a  pretty  sight  to  see  some  twenty  or  thirty 
couples  wheeling  one  after  another  around  the  room.  The 
waltz  is  different  here  from  ours,  the  females  turn  around 
but  slowly,  and  dance  but  little  at  each  step,  so  that  the 
quadroon  is  four  times  as  long  getting  around  the  room  as 
a  Northern  belle  would  be.  The  dance  to  me  is  a  detestable 
one.  I  cannot  bear  it,  and,  were  it  not  for  the  charge  of 
want  of  civilization,  should  declare  that  nothing  would  ever 


316  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

induce  me  to  let  a  wife  or  daughter  of  mine  join  in  its  mazes. 
It  is  pretty  in  the  same  way  that  an  indecent  picture  may 
be  a  pretty  one  in  every  sense  but  the  moral  one.  Many 
men  were  masked  and  in  costume.  Among  the  most  con 
spicuous  was  a  fellow  in  flesh  colored  clothes,  fitting  tight 
to  the  skin,  and  with  the  ornaments  of  a  Peruvian  Indian, 
as  we  sometimes  see  them  in  pictures.  There  were  some 
Turks,  many  old  men,  and  a  capital  countryman.  The 
Peruvian  got  into  a  fight  in  the  antechamber  with  a  man  who 
attempted  to  look  under  his  mask,  and,  when  he  took  it  off 
to  repair  damages,  exhibited  a  bull-necked  savage  looking 
person,  who  was  recognized  as  the  keeper  and  bully  of  the 
tavern  on  the  levee.  But  the  fellow  was  alone;  the  others 
in  the  room  dressed  and  behaved  like  gentleman.  The 
handsomest  person  at  the  ball,  male  or  female,  was  a  Spanish 
gentleman,  who  was  dressed  as  a  woman  and  was  not  dis 
covered,  although  he  wore  no  mask,  until  many  of  his  sex  had 
been  introduced  to  him,  some  of  acquaintances  among  the 
number,  and  proceeded  to  make  love  to  him  as  a  female. 
I  had  observed  that  this  lady  was  in  the  habit  of  spitting 
and  putting  her  foot  on  the  result,  and  remarked  it  to  a 
friend,  but  it  was  some  time  before  the  impostor  was  dis 
covered.  Curiosity  kept  me  looking  on  for  some  tune,  and 
about  midnight  I  had  the  chance  of  seeing  two  excellent 
quarrels.  There  was  a  fight  between  two  Frenchmen  in 
one  instance,  which  ended  in  one  being  knocked  down,  and 
a  demand  and  promise  of  satisfaction ;  and  the  other  quarres, 
between  a  Spaniard  and  a  Frenchman,  ended  in  arrange 
ments  for  a  duel.  The  Spaniard  was  so  violent  that  he  got 
into  a  half  a  dozen  quarrels,  and  knocked  down  several 
who  attempted  to  interfere  and  who  got  up  only  to  demand 
and  to  be  promised  the  reparation  of  their  honor  in  mortal 
combat.  It  was  curious  to  hear  the  Spaniard  who  cursed, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  317 

swore  and  exclaimed  in  three  different  languages — English, 
Spanish  and  French — and  spoke  all  equally  well.  The 
women  ran  into  the  alcoves  when  the  quarrel  began.  The 
music  ceased,  and  the  gentlemen  crowded  around,  jumping 
upon  the  chairs  and  benches,  and  then  after  some  five 
minutes  of  excitement  the  fiddlers  struck  up,  the  women 
came  back  to  their  places  in  the  cotillon,  and  everything 
went  on  as  before,  the  quarrelers  having  by  this  time  been 
pushed  and  elbowed  either  into  the  .apartment  at  the  ex 
tremity  of  the  ballroom  or  into  the  antechamber.  Below 
the  ballroom  was  the  supper  room,  where  every  delicacy 
could  be  procured  at  ten  francs  for  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
who  were  inclined  to  get  indigestion  and  headaches. 

"Towards  the  close  of  the  ball  the  room  became  very 
warm,  and  the  smell  of  the  heated  quadroons  and  mulattoes 
was  disagreeable  to  me  who  was  not  accustomed  to  it.  I 
could  not  stand  it  and  I  went  away. 

"New  Orleans  would  have  far  less  of  the  picturesque, 
if  it  had  more  morals  to  recommend  it.  This  much,  how 
ever,  I  can  safely  say  of  it,  that  I  never  was  in  a  more  quiet 
or  better  ordered  City  at  those  periods  when  riot  is  rife 
ordinarily  and  when  the  night  is  made  the  periods  of  noise 
and  disturbance.  I  would  quite  as  soon  trust  myself  in 
any  part  of  New  Orleans  at  that  time  as  I  would  in  any 
Northern  city.  So  far  as  my  personal  comfort  is  concerned, 
I  have  been  most  kindly  treated,  and  shall  not  soon  forget 
the  attentions  that  I  have  received. 

TRIP  TO  NATCHEZ  BY  MISSISSIPPI,   AND  RETURN  WITH  MRS. 
LATROBE  TO  WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS,  1835. 

"I  had  not  been  long  enough  from  my  office  to  affect  my 
business,  which  I  continued  to  work  at  steadily  until  June 
1835,  when,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Latrobe's  relative,  Mr. 


318  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

C.  L.  Claiborne,  a  midshipman  in  the  United  States  Navy, 
who  had  just  passed  his  examination,  I  left  Baltimore  for 
Natchez,  to  bring  back  my  wife  and  children,  for  Osmun 
had  been  born  there  after  I  left  "Soldier's  Retreat."  We 
went  to  Frederick  by  rail,  from  there  by  stage  coach  across 
the  mountains  to  Pittsburgh,  descending  the  Ohio  and  Mis 
sissippi  to  Natchez.  Returning  with  Charlotte  and  the 
children,  we  landed  at  "Guyandotte,"  and  crossed  the  moun 
tains  to  the  White  Sulphur.  The  boat  in  which  we  set  out 
on  our  return  was  a  Tennessee  River  one,  which  landed  us 
at  Smithland,  where  we  had  to  remain  until  another  boat 
came  along  on  which  we  could  embark.  At  Smithland  we 
nearly  lost  Osmun  with  an  attack  of  croup,  which  I  mention 
only  to  give  a  recipe  for  making  a  child  vomit.  When 
everything  else  had  failed,  a  Dr.  Brown,  who  had  been  called 
in,  took  an  unlighted  pipe  and  placed  the  stem  in  a  tea  cup 
of  water,  and  the  bowl  in  his  mouth,  blew  until  the  water 
was  imbued  with  the  narcotic.  Giving  this  to  the  infant 
in  teaspoonfuls,  vomiting  was  produced,  and  the  child's 
life  was  saved. 

"We  travelled  by  stage  from  Guyandotte  to  the  White 
Sulphur,  and  passed  the  falls  of  the  Kenawha.  Here  we 
found  a  very  comfortable  hotel.  While  dinner  was  pre 
paring,  I  went  to  look  at  the  falls,  which  gave  their  name  to 
the  village.  I  could  not  learn  the  perpendicular  height, 
but  should  not  suppose  it  to  exceed  twenty  feet.  The 
water  was  low,  and  large  surfaces  of  flat  sandstone  were 
left  bare  along  which  I  walked  to  the  main  channel,  where 
the  stream  tumbled  into  a  deep  bowl  in  the  shape  of  a  horse 
shoe.  The  sketch  I  have  made  is  a  general  one  from 
the  window  of  the  Tavern.  The  spot  is  wild  and  very 
picturesque. 

"Claiborne  had  left  us  at  Smithland  and  went  up  the 


FALLS  OF  THE  KEN  AW  HA 
Painted  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 


, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891 


319 


Cumberland,  or  Tennessee,  I  forget  which,  to  visit  his 
relatives  at  Nashville.  Arrived  at  White  Sulphur  we  re 
mained  there  until  the  end  of  August  1835.  On  reaching 
Washington  on  our  way  back  from  the  White  Sulphur,  we 
found  the  railroad  in  operation,  and  passed  over  it  drawn 
by  the  grasshopper  engine,  a  now  long  abandoned  form  of 
the  locomotive,  but  a  great  affair  in  its  day,  notwithstanding. 
"  I  have  had  rare  travelling  for  a  drudging  lawyer.  From 
Quebec,  round  the  Capes  of  Florida,  up  and  down  the  Ohio 
and  the  Mississippi,  through  the  wilderness,  North,  South, 
East  and  West  have  my  wanderings  been.  If  not  wiser  I 
am  healthier;  and  at  all  events  if  I  have  found  my  country 
with  all  the  inconveniences  occasionally  of  almost  a  savage 
State,  I  have  seen  her  in  her  vastness,  and  now  know  and 
feel  the  certainty  of  her  future  and  inevitable  grandeur 
and  glory  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. " 


CHAPTER  XIII 

HISTORY  OF  MR.  LATROBE'S  GREAT  CLIENT,  THE  BALTI 
MORE  &  OHIO  RAILROAD  AND  ITS  CONFLICT  WITH  THE 
CHESAPEAKE  &  OHIO  CANAL  COMPANY  FOR  THE  VALLEY 
OF  THE  POTOMAC. 

The  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  its  re 
markable  progress,  as  already  stated,  was  due  to  the  de 
velopment  of  steam  in  rapid  transportation,  and  to  electric 
ity  in  rapid  communication;  for  until  then  little  or  no 
improvement  over  ancient  methods  had  been  made.  Steam 
was  recognized  as  foreshadowing  great  possibilities.  Eras 
mus  Darwin,  a  grandfather  of  the  famous  scientist,  filled 
with  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  wrote  in  1786: 

"  Soon  shall  thy  arm,  unconquered  steam,  afar 
Drag  the  slow  barge,  or  draw  the  rapid  car; 
Or  on  wide  waving  wings  expanded  bear 
The  flying  chariot  thro'  the  fields  of  air. " 

Darwin  died  in  1802.  Steamboats,  steam  railroads,  and 
flying  machines  only  existed  in  the  mind  of  the  poet. 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  born  at  the  beginning  of  this  develop 
ment.  He  became  intimately  connected  with  matters  re 
lating  to  the  development  of  transportation  by  steam,  and 
was  also  the  counsel  of  the  first  company  in  which  electricity 
was  used  for  any  commercial  purpose.  He  was  one  of  the 
counsel  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  when  it  was  in 
corporated  in  1827,  and  he  was  its  counsel  when  he  died  in 
1891.  No  other  man  has  ever  been  counsel  for  a  railroad 
for  this  length  of  time. 

320 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  321 

When  Morse  was  endeavoring  to  obtain  recognition  of 
his  method  of  transmitting  messages  by  electricity,  he 
consulted  Mr.  Latrobe,  who  sent  him  to  Mr.  Louis  McLane, 
then  President  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio.  I  recollect  Mr. 
Latrobe  telling  me  that  Mr.  McLane  stopped  to  see  him 
at  his  office  and  told  him  of  a  visit  he  had  had  from  Morse, 
whom  he  described  as  a  crazy  man  who  believed  that  he 
could  send  messages  from  Baltimore  to  Washington,  and 
that  he  had  replied,  "The  day  when  you  and  I  are  dead  and 
forgotten,  this  man  will  be  remembered." 

Mr.  Latrobe's  life  was  so  intimately  associated  and  con 
nected  with  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  that  its  history 
forms  a  part  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  biography.  He  was  connected 
with  the  railroad,  as  already  stated,  through  a  period  of 
sixty-three  years,  during  which  time  the  railroad  struggled 
from  very  small  beginnings  to  be  an  immense  power.  From 
a  pamphlet  entitled  "Personal  Recollections  of  the  Balti 
more  &  Ohio,"  written  by  Mr.  Latrobe,  I  shall  quote  fully. 

In  a  lecture  delivered  by  Mr.  Latrobe  before  the  Maryland 
Institute  in  March  1868  entitled  "Personal  Recollections," 
speaking  of  the  enterprise  of  Baltimore  and  its  desire  to 
connect  itself  with  the  Great  West  in  the  early  days,  he 
says:  "Railroads  were  then  not  thought  of.  Canals  were 
the  means  relied  upon." 

The  most  practical  route  for  a  canal  was  discussed  in 
public  meetings  in  Baltimore.  This  was  in  1824  and  1825, 
but  the  cost  was  so  great  that  our  people,  like  the  Israelites 
of  old,  sat  down  by  the  Waters  of  Babylon,  and  wept. 

At  a  dinner  given  by  Colonel  John  Eager  Howard,*  at 
his  residence,  "Belvedere,"  in  1825,  Mr.  Evan  Thomas, 
just  returned  from  England,  described  what  he  had  seen  of 
loads  of  coal  drawn  by  engines  from  the  mines  on  the  Stock- 

*Hero  of  Cowpens,  Governor  of  Maryland  and  United  States  Senator. 


322  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

ton  and  Darlington  railroads.  (Co'cnel  Howard  died  the 
year  the  Railroad  was  incorporated  in  1827.  Some  of  his 
sons  were  active  in  promoting  the  road  started  at  their 
father's  dinner  table.) 

Philip  E.  Thomas,  a  brother  of  Evan  Thomas  and  Presi 
dent  of  the  Mechanics  Bank,  a  man  of  means  and  of  great 
influence  among  his  associates,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
scheme  of  a  railroad  from  Baltimore  to  the  Ohio.  With  the 
knowledge  that  we  now  have,  the  early  efforts  to  accomplish 
this  great  purpose  seem  almost  childish  and  futile,  and  the 
enterprise  might  be  classed  as  a  sort  of  "Jack  the  Giant 
Killer." 

A  charter,  modelled  upon  the  old  Turnpike  Charters, 
was  prepared,  and  in  March  1827  the  first  railroad  company 
in  the  United  States  for  general  purposes  of  transportation 
was  launched  into  existence,  with  a  capital  of  $1,500,000, 
with  liberty  to  increase  it.  The  City  of  Baltimore  and  the 
State  were  authorized  to  subscribe  to  the  stock.  There 
was  great  enthusiasm  and  a  wild  rush  to  subscribe  to  stock. 
A  railroad  mania  took  possession  of  the  land. 

Mr.  Jonathan  Knight  was  Chief  Engineer,  but  with  all 
the  skill  available  ideas  were  most  crude.  One  of  these 
ideas  was  the  method  to  be  used  in  crossing  the  Allegheny 
Mountains.  This  was  to  be  done  by  means  of  a  double 
track  with  straight  lines  built  straight  up  and  over  the 
mountains,  after  the  system  now  used  in  coal  mines,  where  a 
number  of  cars  descend  on  one  side  loaded  and  a  large 
number  of  empties  are  pulled  up  on  the  other  side  by  means 
of  a  steel  cable  passing  over  a  wheel. 

The  City  Council,  in  its  wisdom,  required  the  railroad, 
in  order  to  secure  the  City's  contribution  of  $500,000,  to 
enter  the  City  at  sixty-six  feet  above  grade  and,  instead  of 
locating  the  road  where  it  was  located  forty  years  afterwards, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  323 

it  reached  the  corner  of  Pratt  and  Amity  Streets  at  this 
grade.  Here  the  cornerstone  was  laid  on  the  4th  day  of 
July,  1828,  and  Mr.  Charles  Carroll  of  Carroll  ton  that  day 
struck  the  gavel  and  applied  the  square.  With  such  a 
sponsor  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  might  claim  to 
be  the  most  aristocratic  Railroad  in  the  country. 

The  last  gush  of  enthusiasm  came  to  an  end  with  the 
laying  of  the  cornerstone.  Subscriptions  were  called,  and 
people  commenced  to  grumble.  Many  foolish  things  were 
done.  Deep  cuts  were  proposed  to  be  made  by  the  engineers 
without  any  method  of  drainage.  Mr.  Alexander  Brown, 
one  of  the  directors,  stopped  the  making  of  one  of  these 
large  cuts,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  if  it  was 
dug  as  proposed,  there  was  no  method  of  getting  rid  of  the 
water,  and  his  common  sense  came  to  the  rescue  of  the 
engineer. 

A  great  excitement  in  the  city  was  caused  by  the  question 
as  to  how  the  railroad  was  to  reach  Light  Street  Wharf  at 
a  six  foot  grade,  as  it  entered  the  City  at  a  sixty-six  foot 
grade.  It  was  contended  that  it  would  be  impossible,  on 
account  of  the  railroad  having  to  cross  streets  where  the 
drainage  of  the  gutters  ran  at  right  angles,  or  north  and 
south.  The  papers  were  full  of  this  contention,  and  a 
war  of  words  and  discussions  was  entered  into.  At  last 
some  one  suggested  that  if  the  railroad  found  the  gutters 
of  Baltimore  impossible  to  cross,  what  hope  could  there  be 
for  the  railroad  crossing  the  Allegheny  Mountains?  This 
seemed  to  bring  the  people  to  their  senses,  and  it  was  con 
cluded  that  the  difficulties  could,  and  must,  be  overcome. 

The  first  rail  laid  was  an  iron  strap.  The  car  wheels 
had  flanges  on  the  outside.  The  cars  were  like  a  country 
market  wagon.  In  the  beginning  no  one  dreamed  of  steam 
upon  the  road.  Horses  were  the  power.  The  Relay  House 


324  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

got  its  name  from  the  fact  that  here  it  was  that  a  relay  of 
horses  was  stationed. 

To  reduce  the  friction  on  the  axle  was  one  of  the  great 
desiderata.  Dr.  William  Howard,  son  of  John  Eager  Howard, 
patented  an  ingenious  and  beautiful  contrivance  to  accom 
plish  this.  Mr.  Ross  Winans  introduced  the  "Winans 
Friction  Wheel,"  an  invention  of  great  value. 

The  iron  strap  laid  on  longitudinal  stone  sleepers  pro 
duced  a  noise  which  was  deafening.  Between  the  iron 
wheels  and  the  stone,  the  straps  were  soon  hammered 
out  of  existence.  A  wise  suggestion  was  made  to  lay  a 
thin  strip  of  lead  between  the  iron  strap  and  the  stone 
sleeper.  It  was  found  that  the  cost  of  this  was  something 
magnificent. 

Stumbling  along  with  many  falls,  the  railroad  was  learn 
ing  by  sad  experience  how  to  be  built. 

We,  in  our  wisdom,  smile  at  the  follies  of  our  ancestors. 
A  famous  German  engineer,  Chevalier  Von  Gerstner,  came 
to  this  country  for  information.  When  asked  why  he 
did  not  go  to  England,  where  the  railroads  had  made 
considerable  way,  he  said  he  wanted  to  escape  from  the 
English  system,  in  which  George  Stephenson's  thumb  was 
impressed  on  every  plan.  "In  America  each  one  is  trying 
to  surpass  his  neighbor.  There  is  a  rivalry  here  out  of 
which  grows  improvement.  In  England  it  is  imitation;  in 
America  it  is  invention. " 

Steam  had  now  made  its  appearance  upon  the  Liverpool 
and  Manchester  Railroad  (1825),  but  English  roads  were 
practically  straight  roads.  American  roads,  for  reasons  of 
cost,  had  many  curves  in  order  to  avoid  obstructions — some 
of  them  with  a  very  small  radius.  Mr.  Latrobe  goes  on  to 
speak  of  some  of  these  curves. 

How  one  of  these  curves  between  Baltimore  and  Wash- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  325 

ington  was  finally  gotten  rid  of  is  quite  modern  history. 
Mr.  John  W.  Garrett  was  President  of  the  railroad  at  the 
time.  He  was  a  very  positive  and  determined  character. 
He  desired  to  have  the  trains  run  from  Baltimore  to  Wash 
ington  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.  The  curve  I  speak  of  was 
a  sharp  reverse  curve  shaped  like  the  letter  S  located  be 
tween  Baltimore  and  the  Relay  House.  It  was  practically 
impossible  to  keep  a  long  train  on  an  even  keel  after  it 
entered  the  curve.  If  a  train  was  going  at  a  high  rate  of 
speed  the  reverse  part  of  the  curve  produced  a  sudden 
jerk.  The  engineers  notified  Mr.  Garrett  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  get  rid  of  this  curve  if  the  trains  were  to 
be  run  at  a  high  speed.  Mr.  Garrett  stated  that  he  did 
not  see  why  this  expense  would  have  to  be  incurred,  and 
refused  to  give  his  consent.  Some  time  afterwards  Mr. 
Garrett  was  in  his  private  car  going  from  Baltimore  to 
Washington.  The  train  was  run  at  full  speed  over  this 
section  of  the  road,  and  Mr.  Garrett,  who  was  quite  stout, 
was  thrown  against  the  arm  of  the  seat.  When  he  returned 
to  Baltimore  he  consented  to  have  the  road  bed  changed  at 
this  point. 

It  was  contended  that  the  engines  which  would  operate 
successfully  upon  an  English  road  could  not  be  used  on  a 
road  with  short  curves. 

To  meet  the  difficulty  growing  out  of  the  construction 
of  the  railroads  in  America,  Mr.  Peter  Cooper  of  New  York 
came  forward  and  built  an  engine  to  demonstrate  his  con 
tention  that  steam  could  be  used  upon  American  railroads 
around  curves.  His  engine  was  not  a  very  magnificent 
affair.  The  boiler  was  as  large  as  the  ordinary  boiler  in  our 
kitchen,  and  the  entire  weight  was  a  ton.  After  experiment 
ing  with  the  engine,  his  success  was  such  that  Mr.  Cooper 
proposed  a  trial  trip  from  Baltimore  to  Ellicott  Mills,  and 


326  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

so  in  the  summer  of  1830  the  first  trial  trip  in  the  United 
States  was  made  by  a  steam  engine  pulling  a  passenger  car. 
The  speed  at  times  was  as  high  as  eighteen  miles  an  hour. 
Memorandum  books  were  pulled  out  when  at  this  highest 
speed.  The  occupants  of  the  car  wrote  their  names  to 
prove  that  at  this  great  velocity  it  was  possible  to  do  so. 
There  was,  however,  a  fly  in  the  ointment.  The  triumph 
of  the  engine  was  not  without  a  drawback.  There  were 
parallel  tracks  laid  from  Baltimore  to  Ellicott  Mills,  and  at 
the  Relay  House,  upon  the  return  trip,  Peter  Cooper's 
Tom  Thumb  Engine  was  challenged  to  a  race.  On  the 
track  alongside  a  gallant  gray  had  been  hitched  to  a  wicker 
car,  and  the  race  between  horse  and  steam  was  on.  The 
horse's  steam  developed  more  rapidly  than  the  engine's, 
and  he  started  ahead.  The  horse  was  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
ahead  when  the  safety  valve  on  the  engine  lifted,  and  the 
vapor  issuing  from  it  showed  an  excess  of  steam.  The 
pace  increased,  the  passengers  shouted.  The  engine  gained 
upon  the  horse,  soon  it  lapped  him,  the  whip  was  applied. 
The  race  was  neck  and  neck,  nose  and  nose.  The  engine 
passed  the  horse  and  a  great  "hurrah"  heralded  the  victory. 
Just  then,  when  the  gray's  master  was  about  to  give  up,  the 
band  which  drove  the  pulley,  which  drove  the  blower, 
slipped  from  the  drum,  the  safety  valve  ceased  to  scream, 
and  the  engine  for  want  of  breath  began  to  wheeze  and  pant. 
In  vain  Mr.  Cooper,  who  was  his  own  engineer  and  fireman, 
lacerated  his  hands  in  attempting  to  replace  the  band  on 
the  wheel.  The  horse  gained  on  the  machine  and  passed  it, 
and,  although  the  band  was  presently  replaced,  the  horse 
was  too  far  ahead  to  be  overtaken  and  came  in  the  winner 
of  the  race. 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1836  that  horse  power  was 
abandoned  on  the  railroad. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  327 

To  Mr.  Foss  Winans  is  to  be  credited  the  first  eight- 
v.Lcel  r-SFFcnjrer  car. 

It  rray  re  interesting  to  set  forth  a  copy  of  the  letter  of 
Mr.  Peter  Oofcr  of  New  York,  who  had  accumulated  a 
fortune,  and  in  \\  hcse  honor  the  Cooper  Institute  is  named. 

"New  York,  June  9,  1855. 
"Mr.  J.  H.  Latrobe, 

"Dear  Sir: — I  received  your  favor  requesting  me  to  com 
municate  such  facts  as  I  can  recollect  connected  with  an 
experiment  made  by  me  with  a  small  locomotive  engine  on 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  The  experimental  engine 
was  commenced,  I  believe,  in  the  winter  of  1829  and  tried  on 
the  road  during  the  summer  of  1830. 

"For  an  account  of  the  engine  I  will  refer  you  to  a  com 
munication  made  in  August  of  1830  by  Mr.  Ross  Winans 
to  the  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co.,  in  which  you  will  find  a  more  re 
liable  description  of  the  engine  and  its  performance  than 
I  would  be  able  to  give  after  the  lapse  of  so  long  a  time,  and 
having  no  record  of  it  except  in  memory.  The  great  ad 
vantages  that  were  expected  to  result  to  all  the  great  in 
terests  of  Baltimore  from  the  prosecution  and  completion 
of  the  road,  led  me  with  others  to  become  largely  interested 
in  real  estate  hi  that  city,  which  was  mainly  dependent  for 
an  increase  of  value  on  the  rapid  prosecution  and  completion 
of  that  work.  Soon  after  the  road  had  been  commenced 
many  unexpected  difficulties  were  encountered,  causing  the 
stock  to  fall  as  the  difficulties  increased  in  number  and  mag 
nitude,  until,  to  cap  the  climax  of  discouragement,  it  was 
"(relieved  to  have  been  demonstrated  by  an  English  work, 
that  appeared  at  that  time,  that  a  road  with  curves  as  short 
as  those,  which  had  been  adopted  and  found  unavoidable 
on  that  road,  had  ruined  it  for  locomotive  purposes.  The 
1  it \ak nee  of  this  opinion  caused  the  stock  to  decline  to  a 


328  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

mere  nominal  value.  Under  that  state  of  discouragement 
many  of  the  stockholders  with  whom  I  was  acquainted  were 
seriously  considering  the  propriety  of  forfeiting  their  stock, 
in  the  belief  that  the  short  curves  in  the  road  caused  it  to 
become  an  entire  failure.  At  this  critical  period  in  the 
affairs  of  the  road  I  became  satisfied  that  a  locomotive  could 
be  made  to  work  successfully  around  the  many  short  curves 
•of  400  feet  radius,  that  were  then  common  in  the  road. 
Believing  this,  I  determined  to  build  a  small  locomotive, 
.and  pursuaded  my  friends  not  to  forfeit  their  stock  until  I 
could  have  an  opportunity  to  show  them  that  the  road  could 
yet  be  used  successfully  with  locomotives.  The  engine, 
being  the  first  one  that  I  had  attempted,  was,  after  en 
countering  many  difficulties,  completed  and  placed  on  the 
road,  and  succeeded  in  making  its  first  trip  on  an  ascending 
grade  drawing  one  car  with  30  passengers  13  miles  in  one 
hour  and  twelve  minutes,  making  the  return  trip  of  13 
miles  in  57  minutes.  This  result  I  have  the  satisfaction  of 
believing  had  the  effect  of  turning  the  tide  of  public  con 
fidence  in  favor  of  the  road — a  road,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
that  will  scarcely  be  exceeded  in  importance  by  any  road 
in  this  or  any  other  country.  You  will  please  excuse  this 
imperfect  sketch  which  would  have  been  sent  sooner  but  for 
the  variety  of  things  that  constantly  claimed  my  attention. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

(Signed)    PETER  COOPER." 

The  trial  trip  over  a  railroad  in  the  United  States  having 
been  given,  it  is  not  uninteresting  to  compare  this  with  an 
-account  of  one  of  the  first  trips  made  over  a  railroad  in 
England,  which  is  found  among  the  Creevy  papers. 

Speaking  of  the  railroad,  as  he  was  one  of  the  Committee 
to  consider  the  matter  in  the  House  of  Commons,  he  says 


AND  HIS  TIMES,  1803-1891  329 

on  page  429,  March  16,  1825,  referring  to  an  advocate  of 
the  railroad: 

"He  quite  foamed  at  the  mouth  with  rage  in  our  Railway 
Committee  in  support  of  this  infernal  nuisance,  the  loco- 
monster,  carrying  eighty  tons  of  goods  and  navigated  by  a 
tail  of  smoke  and  sulphur,  coming  thro'  every  man's  grounds 
between  Manchester  and  Liverpool. " 

On  the  31st  day  of  May  he  reports  the  result  of  the  meeting 
of  the  Committee. 

"This  railroad  is  the  devil's  own,  we  very  near  did  the 

business,  we  were  3 6  to  3 7  on  the  bill  itself Well, 

the  devil  of  a  railroad  is  strangled  at  last. " 

But  the  devil  seems  to  have  come  to  life  again,  for  we 
find  on  page  545  a  letter  dated  November  19,  1829,  written 
to  his  step-daughter,  Miss  Ord. 

"Today  we  have  had  a  lark  of  a  very  high  order.  Lady 
Wilton  sent  over  yesterday  from  Knowsley  to  say  that  the 
Loco-motor  machine  was  to  be  upon  the  railway  at  such  a 
place  at  12  o'clock  for  the  Knowsley  party  to  ride  in,  if  they 
liked,  and  inviting  this  House  to  be  of  the  party,  so,  of  course, 
we  were  at  our  post  in  three  carriages  and  some  horsemen,  at 
the  hour  appointed.  I  had  the  satisfaction,  I  cannot  call 
it  pleasure,  of  taking  a  trip  of  five  miles  in  it,  which  we  did 
in  just  a  quarter  of  an  hour;  that  is,  twenty  miles  an  hour. 
As  accuracy  upon  this  subject  is  my  great  object,  I  held  my 
watch  in  my  hand  at  starting  and  all  the  time,  and  as  it  has 
a  second  hand  I  knew  I  could  not  be  deceived,  and  it  so 
turned  out  there  was  not  the  difference  of  a  second  between 
the  coachman,  or  conductor,  and  myself. 

I  think  we  went  at  the  rate  of  twenty-three  miles  an  hour, 
just  at  the  same  ease  as  to  the  motion  or  absence  of  friction 
as  at  the  other  reduced  pace,  but  the  quickest  motion  is  to 
me  frightful;  it  is  really  flying,  and  it  is  impossible  to  divest 


330  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

yourself  of  the  thought  of  instant  death  to  all  upon  the  least 
accident  happening.  It  gave  me  a  headache  which  has 
not  left  me  yet.  Sefton  is  convinced  that  some  damnable 
thing  must  come  of  it,  but  he  and  I  seem  more  struck  with 
such  apprehension  than  the  others.  The  smoke  is  very 
inconsiderable  indeed,  but  sparks  of  these  are  abroad  in 
some  quantity;  one  burnt  Miss  de  Rois'  cheek;  another  a 
hole  in  Lady  Marian's  silk  pelice,  and  a  third  in  someone 
else's  gown.  Altogether  I  am  extremely  glad  indeed  to 
have  seen  the  miracle,  and  to  have  travelled  in  it.  Had  I 
thought  worse  of  it  than  I  do,  I  should  have  had  the  curiosity 
to  try  it,  but  having  done  so,  I  am  quite  satisfied  with  my 
first  achievement  being  my  last." 

Sefton's  conviction  that  something  damnable  would  come 
of  it  seems  to  have  had  some  justification,  for  in  the  opening 
of  the  Liverpool  Railroad,  the  same  engine  (I  think  it  was 
"The  Rocket"),  ran  over  and  killed  Harkesson,  the  then 
Prime  Minister  of  England. 

The  full  effect  of  the  introduction  of  this  method  of  trans 
portation  was  not  realized  at  the  beginning.  It  has  revolu 
tionized  the  world,  and  today  the  railroad,  with  its  steel 
rails,  holds  together  a  country,  which  without  this  binding 
force  would  fall  to  pieces  for  want  of  cohesion  in  its  huge 
bulk;  for  while  we  see  and  condemn  many  methods  of  the 
railroads,  we  should,  in  all  fairness,  recognize  their  necessity 
to  our  existence  as  a  great  nation.  Distance  is  destroyed, 
and  we  are  by  this  means,  through  intercourse,  more  central 
ized  than  a  country  of  one-tenth  our  size  before  they  came. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the 
discussions  which  took  place  in  Congress  in  1815  as  to  the 
advisability  of  establishing  a  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oregon 
or  Columbia  River  and  taking  possession  of  the  country, 
Senator  Dickerson  of  New  Jersey,  speaking  in  opposition, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1S91  331 

stated  that  it  would  take  not  less  than  three  hundred  and 
fifty  days  to  reach  Washington  from  the  post,  and  that  each 
representative  would  be  entitled  to  $3,720  from  the  Govern 
ment  to  pay  the  costs  of  his  trip.  As  a  consequence  of  this 
and  other  unfavorable  criticism  the  bill  was  defeated,  the 
Congress  deciding  that  the  distance  between  was  so  great 
as  to  render  it  most  unlikely  that  the  acquisition  of  the 
territory  would  ever  benefit  the  nation.  In  the  light  of 
the  history  of  the  last  hundred  years,  this  incident  con 
tributes,  in  a  remarkable  way,  to  a  realization  of  what  the 
railroads  mean  to  the  very  existence  of  this  country. 

The  tremendous  strides  hi  progress  made  since  the  day 
when  the  United  States  rejected  the  North-west  Territory 
on  account  of  its  remoteness  and  the  cost  of  transportation 
are  well  illustrated  by  the  latest  marvel  of  wireless  tele 
phony  described  by  Dr.  Graham  Bell  in  the  National  Geo 
graphic  Magazine.  By  this  achievement  a  conversation 
was  carried  on  between  Arlington  in  Virginia  and  the  Eiffel 
Tower  in  Paris,  which  was  overheard  at  Honolulu. 

Mr.  Latrobe  has  given  the  dramatis  personae  of  those 
who  were  on  the  stage  at  this  early  period. 

He  describes  them  as  meeting  to  inspect  the  gorge  of  the 
Patapsco,  where  the  Relay  House  was  afterwards  established; 
Mr.  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton  does  not  appear  among 
those  assembled  who  met  on  horseback.  It  is  probable  that 
his  great  age  and  infirmities  kept  him  from  being  present,  but 
he  is  described  by  Mr.  Latrobe  in  the  laying  of  the  Corner 
stone,  as  the  last  surviving  signer  of  the  "Declaration  of 
Independence,"  a  spare  attenuated  old  man,  verging  on 
his  four  score  years  and  ten,  small  in  size,  but  active  in  his 
movement,  with  eyes  still  bright  and  sparkling,  with  a 
voice  thin  now  and  feeble,  but  clear  and  distinct,  as,  in 
emphatic  utterances,  the  venerable  and  venerated  man  pro- 


332  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

phesied  the  success  of  the  great  work  on  whose  cornerstone 
he  that  day  struck  the  gavel  and  applied  the  square.  The 
company  consisted  of  the  Directors  of  the  Company  and 
their  counsel.  Among  the  latter  were  Roger  B.  Taney, 
Messers.  Wirt  and  Daniel  Webster,  William  Gwynn,  and 
young  Reverdy  Johnson.  One  of  the  directors,  John  B. 
Morris,  was  living  at  the  time  of  the  delivery  of  the  address 
by  Mr.  Latrobe,  who  speaks  of  him  as  in  a  green  old  age, 
the  honored  representative  of  the  road. 

Mr.  Robert  Oliver,  the  leader  of  the  hunt,  was  a  grand 
looking  man,  far  advanced  in  years,  his  few  remaining  locks 
snow  white,  but  with  all  the  vitality  and  vigor  of  youth. 
Straight  as  an  arrow,  broad  chested  and  with  the  seat  of  a 
soldier  in  the  saddle. 

Next  came  Alexander  Brown,  with  the  grand  frame  of 
Mr.  Oliver,  but  without  that  abandon  which  on  such  an 
occasion  was  the  latter's  peculiar  characteristic.  To  Mr. 
Brown  everything  was  a  matter  of  business.  He  crossed 
the  gap,  and  the  two  Irishmen  stood  together,  watching 
their  companions. 

Mr.  William  Lorman  followed,  with  his  florid  complexion, 
business  aspect,  keen  bright  eye  and  quiet  self-possession. 
No  stranger  he  to  horsemanship. 

Then  came  Mr.  John  McKim,  Jr.,  a  large  square  built 
man,  with  strongly  marked  Roman  features,  the  character  of 
whose  expression  was  acute  intelligence,  but  who  rode  with 
caution,  as  if  the  occasion  was  unfamiliar. 

Then  came  Mr.  Alexander  Fridge,  whose  careful,  hesitat 
ing  guidance  of  his  horse  showed  that  an  inexpert  rider 
feared  an  accident;  a  pure  man. 

Then  came  Mr.  William  Patterson,  a  small  spare  man, 
of  dark  complexion,  with  great  determination  in  his  quiet 
look. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891 


333 


Isaac  McKim,  spare  and  thin-visaged,  acute  and  cau 
tious,  the  only  merchant  of  them  all  who  sought  political 
life,  who  built  a  ship  and  sent  her,  bearing  his  wife's  name, 
around  the  world,  whose  beauty,  the  ship's  not  more  than 
the  lady's,  was  the  pride  of  Baltimore. 

Talbot  Jones,  a  representative  man,  prudent  on  horse 
back  as  on  "  Change" — a  merchant,  liberal  and  enlightened 
in  all  his  views,  and  whose  whole  heart  was  in  the  railroad. 

George  Hoffman,  refined  and  eminently  courteous  in  his 
bearing,  prominent  as  a  merchant,  and  the  head  of  a  family 
which  was  in  those  days  a  power  in  Baltimore. 

John  B.  Morris,  a  gallant  horseman,  the  handsomest  of 
the  group,  as  he  was  the  youngest  of  the  directors. 

William  Stewart,  afterwards  Mayor  of  Baltimore,  came 
next,  and  last  Mr.  Philip  E.  Thomas,  the  president,  on  his 
ambling  nag,  with  a  kind  word  for  all,  and  by  all  looked 
up  to  as  the  leader  of  the  enterprise. 

There  has  been  more  or  less  question  as  to  which  was  the 
first  railroad  in  the  United  States.  There  were  one  or  two 
roads  commenced  at  the  same  time,  and  it  is  possible  that 
one  of  these,  a  coal  road,  may  have  existed  before  the  Balti 
more  and  Ohio's  tracks  were  laid,  but  according  to  Mr. 
Latrobe's  statement,  the  first  actual  railway  for  passengers 
and  general  traffic  was  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  and  the 
first  trip  which  might  be  called  a  "trial  trip"  was  made  over 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  in  1830.  I  recognize  the  fact  that 
it  is  very  difficult  to  make  any  statement  on  any  public 
question  existing  so  many  years  before,  without  stirring 
up  a  controversy.  I  once  read  that  no  one  could  strike  a 
spade  into  Parnassus,  without  stirring  up  the  bones  of  some 
old  poet,  and  so  it  is  about  everything. 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  employed  in  acquiring  rights  of  way  in 
1828.  He  says: 


334  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

"The  route  preferred  was  up  the  valley  of  the  Potomac, 
and  as  it  was  known  that  this  would  be  contested  by  the 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company,  it  was  determined  to 
obtain  at  once  the  right  of  way.  I  was  employed  for  this 
between  the  Point  of  Rocks  and  Williamsport,  and  Jno. 
V.  L.  McMahon  between  Williamsport  and  Cumberland. 

"The  duties  of  this  employment  consisted  in  part  of  ex 
planation,  in  part  of  argumentation,  and  in  part  of  per 
suasion.  I  was  furnished  with  a  horse  and  honored  with 
the  company  of  Colonel  Stephen  H.  Long  of  the  U.  S. 
Engineer  Corps,  an  officer  then  in  the  service  of  the  Rail 
road  Company,  and  left  Baltimore  for  the  Point  of  Rocks. 

"I  owed  my  appointment  to  my  good  friend,  William 
Gwynn,  who  was  the  personal  friend  of  Philip  E.  Thomas 
and  his  counsel,  and  the  counsel  also  of  the  Company.  I 
had  the  engineering  knowledge,  acquired  at  West  Point,  that 
was  necessary,  or  which  it  was  expected  might  be  useful, 
and  an  aptitude  for  just  such  a  work  as  I  would  be  required 
to  do.  It  was  in  the  month  of  May  1828,  I  think,  that  I 
commenced  my  travels.  Colonel  Long  had  become  noted 
for  his  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  was  an  excellent 
engineer  and  a  very  pleasant  companion.  Dressed  in  civil 
garb,  he  had  about  as  little  of  the  look  of  a  soldier  about 
him  as  might  be,  and  with  his  round  shoulders  and  gold 
spectacles,  was  far  less  military  in  his  appearance  than  his 
companion,  who  but  a  few  years  from  West  Point  still 
prided  himself  upon  the  set-up  of  the  institution.  But  the 
Colonel  regarded  me  as  'an  army  man,'  and  we  were  good 
comrades  for  many  a  weary  mile,  slept  in  the  same  room  at 
the  farm  houses,  and  had  generally  a  jolly  time.  I  remem 
ber  his  teaching  me  the  way  to  let  down  bars  as  we  plodded 
through  the  fields  on  the  river  bottoms  by  beginning  at 
the  bottom  rail.  When  we  had  viewed  the  Point  of  Rocks 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  335 

and  Cliffs  at  Harper's  Ferry,  where  we  crossed  the  Potomac 
by  a  rope  ferry,  and  worked  some  distance  up  the  steep 
cliffs  approaching  Williamsport,  procuring  releases  as  we 
went  along  from  the  proprietors  who  knew  no  more  of  a 
railroad  than  of  Chinese,  and  to  whom  I  could  teach  precious 
little,  we  were  summoned  back  to  Baltimore  and  informed 
that  the  mere  releases  with  which  we  had  been  furnished 
would  not  do,  but  that  we  must  procure  regular  deeds  of 
the  land  to  be  occupied.  In  consequence  I  set  out  again, 
this  time  with  a  surveyor,  a  rodman,  and  a  sort  of  messenger. 
The  present  General  Isaac  Trimble  was  the  engineer.* 
Trimble  laid  down  the  lines  of  the  tract  wanted,  I  inserted 
them  in  the  deed  and  Crawford,  an  employe  of  the  com 
pany,  rode  off  to  get  two  Magistrates  to  go  with  me  to  the 
owner's  house  and  take  the  acknowledgment  of  the  instru 
ment.  This  time  Colonel  Long  remained  at  Baltimore  and 
I  became  Captain  of  the  host.  It  would  be  pleasant  to 
recall  the  odd  adventures  of  this  expedition,  but  I  have  no 
time  or  place.  I  did  the  work  sufficiently  well  to  lay  the 
foundation  for  the  great  case  of  the  canal  and  railroad  re 
ported  in  4th  Gill  and  Johnson,  page  1.  I  returned  to 
Baltimore  some  time  in  June  and  in  time  to  write  the  ad 
dress  delivered  by  Mr.  Thomas  at  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  road  on  July  4,  1 828.  By  this  time  Mr.  Thomas 
and  I  had  become  quite  intimate,  an  intimacy  that  contin 
ued  till  his  death.  He  made  me  executor  of  his  will,  and  so 
I  remained  until  his  removal  to  New  York  made  other  dis 
positions  expedient. 

"I  mention  all  this  because  it  was  my  connection  with 
the  road  at  its  commencement  that  gave  me  a  strong  push 

*Both  Colonels  Long  and  Trimble  were  West  Point  men  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States  in  the  early  works  of  public  improvement,  when  the  services  of  Gov 
ernment  Engineers  were  availed  of. 


336  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

ahead  in  my  profession.  Its  litigations  gave  me  oppor 
tunity,  and  opportunity  was  what  I  wanted,  just  as  all 
young  men  want  it.  My  income  with  the  fee  from  the  rail 
road  in  1828  was  $2,000,  a  sum  on  which  in  those  days  a 
man  might  marry,  nor  was  I  without  my  aspirations  in  this 
direction. 

"From  that  time  to  the  present  I  have  been  the  counsel 
of  the  Company,  engaged  in  all  its  litigation,  and  as  thor 
oughly  identified  with  its  business  as  any  other  person  in 
the  community  for  the  same  period.  Of  all  my  professional 
engagements  this  was  the  one  in  which,  at  the  time  of  which 
I  am  now  writing,  I  took  the  most  interest.  It  fell  in  with 
my  mechanical  tastes  and  my  early  education.  For  many 
years  I  have  held  my  place  as  its  counsel  at  what  is  almost 
a  nominal  salary  of  $1,000.00  a  year,  when,  out  of  its  serv 
ice  and  at  liberty  to  take  part  in  litigation  against  it,  I 
could  at  season  make  ten  times  as  much.  I  have  held  my 
self,  I  say,  more  out  of  pride  and  affection,  than  from  any 
other  motive,  to  the  wonder  of  many  of  my  friends.  I  am 
a  sort  of  chronicle  of  the  company's  affairs.  I  dare  say  if 
I  had  asked  for  an  increase  of  salary  I  might  have  obtained 
it,  but  I  hated  to  do  this,  and  so  I  suppose  will  jog  on  to 
the  end." 

The  chief  competitor  of  railroads  in  those  days  was  water 
transportation,  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  came  into 
conflict  with  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal.  In  the  case 
of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  vs.  Western  Maryland 
Railroad  Company,  reported  in  99  Md.  page  572,  Judge 
Schmucker,  speaking  for  the  Court  of  Appeals,  says:  "It  is 
unnecessary  for  the  determination  of  its  present  status  to 
review  the  history  of  that  somewhat  famous  water-way  or 
the  litigation  of  which  its  career  has  been  so  fruitful."  As 
a  part  of  the  history  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  it  is  inter- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  337 

esting  to  consider  this  fight  between  the  Canal  and  the 
Railroad.  The  work  of  connecting  the  waters  of  the  Ohio 
with  the  Chesapeake  Bay  was  one  of  the  grand  ideas  which 
were  entertained  in  the  latter  part  of  the  18th  Century, 
and  it  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  pet  schemes  of  Presi 
dent  Washington.  The  Potomac  Company  was  created  by 
concurrent  legislation  of  the  States  of  Virginia  and  Mary 
land  in  1784. 

The  title  of  the  law  is  "An  Act  for  opening  and  extending 
the  navigation  of  the  Potomac  River."  Under  the  fourth 
section  of  this  Act,  the  Company  was  authorized  to  cut 
canals  wherever  necessary  in  its  opinion.  There  are  a 
number  of  clauses  relating  to  powers  which  are  claimed  in 
the  litigation,  by  the  one  side  to  restrict  the  Company  to 
the  use  of  canals  in  particular  localities,  and  by  the  other 
that  the  right  to  cut  canals  was  unlimited,  and  could  be 
exercised  at  almost  any  time  and  anywhere  in  the  Valley 
of  the  Potomac. 

The  reason  that  this  matter  is  now  considered  is  that  it 
is  apparent  in  the  case  of  the  Canal  Company  v.  the  Rail 
road  4  Gill  &  Johnson,  page  one,  that  the  Chief  Justice,  who 
delivered  the  opinion,  based  his  opinion  largely  upon  the 
theory  that  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company  had 
acquired  the  right  of  the  Potomac  River  Company,  and,  as 
he  puts  it,  on  page  62 : 

"The  question  then  presented  for  the  consideration  of 
this  Court  is  whether  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Com 
pany  has  a  priority  of  right  in  the  choice  or  selection  of 
ground  for  the  route  and  site  of  the  canal  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Potomac." 

The  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company  was  according 
to  one  claim  incorporated  prior  to  the  incorporation  of  the 
Railroad,  but  while  it  is  true  the  Act  of  1825  provided  for 


338  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

the  existence  of  the  canal,  it  also  provided  that  before  it 
would  be  entitled  to  accept  the  charter,  certain  conditions 
had  to  be  performed — among  others,  the  subscription  to  a 
certain  amount  of  the  stock.  This  stock  was  not  subscribed 
to  until  the  24th  day  of  May  1828.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company  had  been  incorporated 
by  an  Act  passed  on  the  28th  of  February  1827,  and  was 
organized  and  had  its  stock  subscribed  by  the  23rd  day  of 
April  1827;  so  that  it  is  plain  that  unless  the  Canal  Company 
could  claim  priority  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  had  ac 
quired  the  interests  of  the  Potomac  Company,  the  Balti 
more  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company  was,  so  far  as  incorpora 
tion  and  completion  of  its  corporal  entity  were  concerned, 
established  prior  to  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company. 

It  would  take  too  much  time  and  cover  too  much  space 
to  go  into  the  reasons  and  the  long  arguments  which  appear 
in  this  case.  The  case  covers  one  hundred  and  ninety-one 
pages  of  4th  Gill  and  Johnson.  There  were  at  that  time 
six  Judges  on  the  Bench  of  the  Court  of  Appeals.  They 
were  John  Buchanan,  Chief  Judge,  Richard  Tillman  Earle, 
William  Bond  Martin,  John  Stephen,  Stevenson  Archer  and 
Thomas  Beale  Dorsey. 

After  the  incorporation  of  the  Railroad  and  its  acceptance 
of  the  charter,  it  moved  promptly.  It  located  the  route 
from  Point  of  Rocks  to  Cumberland,  along  what  is  known  as 
the  left  or  Maryland  side  of  the  Potomac  River,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  acquire  rights  of  way.  Even  if  the  Canal  Com 
pany  had  had  a  prior  right  to  select  a  route,  it  was  contended 
— and  later  court  decisions  say  rightly  contended — that 
this  right  could  not  be  held  in  abeyance,  but  should  have 
been  exercised  within  a  reasonable  time,  and  rights  of  way 
acquired.  To  hold,  as  the  Court  did  in  this  case,  that  the 
Canal  Company  had  the  right  of  priority  by  its  charter  to 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  339 

select  any  route  in  the  Valley  of  the  Potomac  at  any  time 
would  not  be  the  view  entertained  by  any  Court  of  this 
country  in  later  times. 

The  Canal  Company  filed  a  bill  for  an  injunction  re 
straining  the  Railroad  and  its  agents  from  locating  the  road 
on  the  left  side  of  the  Potomac,  claiming  that  it  had  a  prior 
ity  of  right  of  selection  in  what  was  known  as  the  "Valley 
of  the  Potomac." 

The  Railroad  Company  did  not  answer  this  Bill,  but  filed 
a  Bill  before  Chancellor  Bland  for  an  injunction  restraining 
the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company  from  interfering 
with  its  work.  The  two  cases  were  consolidated. 

The  Canal  Company  claimed  that  by  certain  surveys 
made  long  prior  thereto  by  the  Potomac  Company,  whose 
rights  it  acquired,  the  left-hand  or  Maryland  side  of  the 
Potomac  had  been  considered  the  better  side  upon  which  to 
construct  a  canal,  and  that  the  Canal  Company  had  the  right 
to  select  whatever  place  it  desired  in  the  Valley  of  the  Poto 
mac,  between  the  Point  of  Rocks  and  Cumberland,  and 
that  the  building  of  the  Railroad  would  seriously  increase 
its  cost. 

That  the  law  was  forced  to  grant  the  contention  of  the 
Canal  Company  must  strike  anyone  who  reads  the  opinion 
of  Chief  Justice  Buchanan.  He  decides  that  the  Chesa 
peake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company  had  acquired  the  rights  of 
the  Potomac  Company  incorporated  in  1784,  and  he  gathers 
from  the  entire  charter  that  the  right  to  make  the  Potomac 
navigable  would  give  the  right  to  that  Company  to  build  a 
continuous  canal  from  Washington  to  Cumberland. 

He  refers  to  the  Fourth  Section  of  the  Act,  and  says  that 
the  Potomac  Company  unquestionably  had  a  right  to  make 
canals,  and  if  it  had  a  right  to  make  canals  at  different 
points,  there  was  no  reason  why  it  could  not  extend  such 


340  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

canals  by  other  small  canals,  and  thus  having  the  right  to 
make  canals,  Presto !  we  have  a  continuous  canal. 

He  gets  rid  of  the  question  of  the  Act  being  for  the  pur 
pose  of  making  the  Potomac  River  navigable,  by  using 
the  following  language: 

"Taking  the  charter  then  altogether,  and  construing  one 
part  by  another,  if  there  had  been  a  canal  or  canals  made 
along  the  shore  of  the  Potomac,  fed  by  the  waters  of  the  river, 
and  capable  of  being  navigated  in  dry  seasons  by  vessels 
drawing  one  foot  of  water,  the  river  would  have  been  made 
navigable  for  vessels  of  that  description  in  the  obvious 
sense  in  which  the  language  adopted  by  the  respective  Leg 
islatures  was  used;  although  not  a  drop  of  water  was  left  to 
flow  in  the  natural  channel,  not  being  required  to  be  kept 
there." 

Thus  the  learned  Judge  decides  that  although  there  is 
not  a  drop  of  water  in  the  river  which  is  to  be  made  navi 
gable,  if  there  is  a  canal  made  alongside  of  the  river,  the 
latter  thereby  becomes  navigable;  which,  with  all  due  con 
sideration,  seems  to  the  ordinary  mind  a  rather  forced  con 
struction  of  the  language  of  an  act  which  provided  for  mak 
ing  a  river  navigable. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  read  the  journal  of 
Uria  Brown,  made  in  1816,  in  which  he  tells  of  visiting 
Cumberland  and  makes  the  following  statement: 

"The  beautifulest  stone  coal  I  ever  saw  is  here  from  8  to 
12  cents  per  bushel.  They  ship  in  time  of  high  water  this 
coal  and  other  products  of  this  country  to  Georgetown  and 
that  neighboring  country,  and  bring  back  in  their  boats  in 
return  one  Ton  to  a  man  of  Plaster,  Herring,  Shad  and  other 
Goods  Materials  as  they  want."  (Md.  His.  Mag.  Vol.  X. 
No.  3  f  276.) 

This  is  evidence  that  the  Potomac  River  had  at  that  time 


JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

at  the  age  of  76 


.«  .H  VMOV 

?tf  \o 


~^  ^*    v.  iBii 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  341 

been  made  navigable  to  a  certain  extent.  One  of  the  argu 
ments  of  the  railroad  was  that  the  Potomac  Company,  by  the 
preamble  of  the  Act  of  Assembly  of  1802  Chapter  84,  was 
estopped  from  claiming  the  right  to  make  a  continuous  canal. 
The  recital  declared  "That  the  object  contemplated  by  the 
Act  of  Assembly  for  establishing  a  company  for  opening 
and  extending  the  navigation  of  the  River  Potomac  has  been 
accomplished."  Subsequently,  in  order  to  furnish  water  to 
the  canal  at  different  points,  its  navigability  was  utterly 
destroyed,  so  that  the  building  of  the  continuous  canal, 
instead  of  making  the  river  navigable,  destroyed  it.  The 
case  was  tried  out  of  place — advanced  upon  the  theory  that 
it  was  a  great  public  question — and  the  decision  rendered 
by  Judges  Buchanan,  Earle  and  Stephen,  Judges  Archer 
and  Dorsey  dissenting,  and  one  Judge,  Martin,  being  absent 
sick. 

In  the  language  of  Judge  Dorsey,  who  delivered  a  dis 
senting  opinion,  "it  is  perfectly  apparent  that  the  case 
was  urged  by  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company  as 
being  a  matter  of  great  public  concern,"  while  the  railroad 
was  described  as  an  odious  and  enormous  monopoly;  that 
therefore  the  law  should  be  interpreted  most  liberally  and 
favorably  to  the  Canal  Company  and  most  strenuously 
against  this  monopoly.  Judge  Dorsey  said  in  his  opinion: 

"  I  shall  endeavor  to  divest  my  mind  of  every  impression 
which  may  have  been  made  by  the  eloquent  and  forcible 
appeal,  preferred  to  the  patriotism  and  sympathies  of  this 
Court,  by  the  appellant,  to  induce  them  to  urge  on  the  ar 
gument  of  this  case  against  the  consent  of  the  appellees  out 
of  the  regular  order  ....  that  the  appeal  made  to 
stimulate  the  patriotic  energies  of  the  Court  to  an  unwonted 
expedition  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  removing  the  alleged 
'only  obstacle'  to  the  speedy  completion  of  the  greatest  of 


342  JOHN   H.   B.   LATROBE 

national  objects — the  consolidation  and  perpetuation  of  the 
vital  principles  of  the  Union  and  the  establishment  of  a 
connected  navigation  between  the  eastern  and  western 
waters — cannot  be  followed  by  the  contemplated  result 
.  .  .  .  So  that  this  magnificent  and  stupendous  enter 
prise  is  disrobed  of  its  national  character,  and  consequently 
high  prerogatives,  and  sinks  into  a  mere  'local'  canal, 
whose  extension  is  limited  by  the  confines  of  Maryland." 

This  dissenting  Judge  was  correct.  The  event  proved  it 
was  not  then  or  at  any  time  a  great  national  work,  but  a 
local  canal,  a  mere  political  ditch. 

Judge  Buchanan  said:  "This  grand  object  was  a  connec 
tion  between  the  Atlantic  States  and  the  country  West  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  to  be  effected  in  part  by  the 
extensions  of  the  navigation  of  the  Potomac  River,  a  work 
not  merely  of  local,  but  of  great  national  importance." 

At  the  time  of  the  incorporation  of  the  Potomac  Com 
pany  in  1774,  railroads  were  not  thought  of.  Spain  held 
the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  and  was  disposed  to  bar  access 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  this  highway.  The  only  method 
of  developing  the  West  and  furnishing  means  for  the  trans 
port  of  heavy  freight  was  by  connecting  the  waters  of  the 
Chesapeake  Bay  with  the  waters  of  the  western  rivers. 
Transportation  by  horse  power  such  a  distance  was  out  of 
the  question. 

Washington  was  a  strong  advocate  of  this  enterprise;  and, 
in  considering  the  Court's  decree,  extenuation  and  excuse 
can  be  found  in  the  influence  exerted  upon  men's  minds  at 
that  period  by  the  magic  name  "  Chesapeake  and  Ohio." 

The  Court  was  carried  away  by  the  character  ascribed 
to  the  canal  by  its  promoters,  and  its  great  potential  na 
tional  importance  as  a  waterway.  But  in  spite  of  the  name 
it  bears,  it  has  never  brought  one  drop  of  water  from  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  343 

western  rivers  to  the  Chesapeake.  It  is  called  "The  Chesa 
peake  and  Ohio  Canal;"  it  has  never  struck  the  Ohio 
River,  and  meets  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  no  nearer 
than  its  feeder — the  Potomac  River — at  Georgetown.  In 
stead  of  being  a  national  enterprise,  it  is  a  Maryland  enter 
prise  which  has  cost  the  State  of  Maryland  about  thirty 
million  dollars  including  interest,  for  which  the  State  has 
never  received  one  dollar  in  return. 

The  protest  of  the  railroad  against  the  case  being  ad 
vanced  out  of  its  place  on  the  docket  of  the  court  was  based, 
first,  upon  the  fact  that  one  of  the  Judges,  Martin,  was 
sick,  and  second,  that  if  it  was  tried  at  the  time  fixed,  other 
engagements  would  prevent  the  counsel  for  the  railroad 
from  being  present.  These  counsel  were  William  Wirt  and 
Roger  B.  Taney,  who  were  associated  with  Daniel  Webster 
and  Reverdy  Johnson.  Wirt  was  ill,  Taney  could  not  be 
present,  and  the  case  was  tried  by  Webster  and  Reverdy 
Johnson  for  the  railroad.  Judge  Martin  was  supposed  to 
be  favorable  to  the  contention  of  the  railroad.  If  this  was 
true,  the  railroad  would  have  won  its  case,  because  Chancel 
lor  Bland  had  decided  in  favor  of  the  railroad,  and  the  Court 
would  have  been  equally  divided,  so  that  his  decision  would 
have  controlled. 

The  railroad  had  no  right  of  appeal,  although  the  canal 
company  had  such  right.  Justice  Buchanan  says  on  page 
116,  when  deciding  against  the  railroad: 

"These  observations  are  elicited  by  our  having  been  re 
minded  in  the  course  of  the  argument  that  in  the  event  of 
a  decision  against  the  claim  of  the  railroad,  there  could  be 
no  appeal,  which  we  regret,  but  cannot  honestly  avoid  the 
consequences." 

The  claim  that  the  Court  of  Appeals  "jockeyed"  this 
case  into  position  and  placed  the  railroad  at  a  great  disad- 


344  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

vantage  may  or  may  not  be  true,  for  it  is  usual  for  lawyers, 
even  now,  when  they  lose  cases,  to  complain  that  the  Court 
of  Appeals,  or  the  Court  that  decides  against  them,  has  not 
given  them  a  fair  show.  This  habit  of  lawyers  seems  to 
have  existed  back  in  1832  when  this  case  was  decided. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  interesting  to  refer  to  the  letters 
of  Mr.  Roger  B.  Taney  to  Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe. 

"Washington,  Jan  6,  1832. 

"My  dear  Sir:- 

"The  news  of  our  defeat  reached  here  on  Wednesday  night 
by  express,  and  it  is  difficult  to  write  to  you  on  the  subject 
without  saying  what  I  think  about  the  conduct  of  the  three 
judges  who,  it  now  appears,  were  determined  to  decide  the 
case  against  us  and  resolved  that  they  should  do  it,  while, 
owing  to  the  absence  of  one  of  the  Judges,  the  power  re 
mained  in  their  hands." 

Again  in  his  letter  dated  February  7,  1832,  Mr.  Taney 
says: — 

"You  will  have  seen  by  the  letters  to  yourself  and  Mr. 
Gwynn  that  I  entirely  concur  in  the  resolutions  as  first 
proposed.  I  would  have  preferred  them  to  the  resolutions 
which  we  published.  It  is  useless  and  mischievous  to  in 
dulge  hopes  ourselves,  or  to  hold  them  out  to  others,  with 
out  reasonable  grounds  for  supposing  that  they  may  be 
realized.  And  what  reasonable  ground  is  there  to  expect 
anything  from  judges  who  have,  by  the  act  of  mere  des 
potic  power  and  in  such  circumstances,  ordered  on  a  case 
of  this  description,  and  have  decided  without  taking  time 
to  think  of  it  and  without  having  made  up  their  minds  what 
reasons  are  to  be  given  for  it?  The  argument  was  a  sol 
emn  farce,  and  the  determination  to  use  the  power  in  their 
hands  too  manifest  to  be  mistaken;  and  it  is  useless  to  think 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  345 

of  any  further  litigation  with  the  canal  company  about 
going  to  Harper's  Ferry,  or  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Potomac. 
.  .  .  .  But  a  great  community  like  Baltimore  need  not  be 
afraid  to  expose  injustice,  even  if  it  comes  from  the  Bench. 
It  has  power  to  make  itself  heard,  and  need  not  be  afraid  of 
the  consequences.  You  will,  however,  find  that  the  same 
feeling  which  has  produced  this  unprecedented  conduct  in 
the  Court  will  influence  the  Legislature,  and  that  a  rehear 
ing  will  be  refused.  The  present  Legislature,  if  I  judge 
them  rightly,  are  adverse  to  Baltimore  ....  make 
up  your  mind  to  cross  by  a  viaduct  to  the  Virginia  side, 
and  go  up  by  that  route." 

So  it  was  that  the  great  case  of  the  Canal  Company  and 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  was  decided  against  the  railroad, 
which  was  forced  to  cross  the  river,  and  run  along  the  Vir 
ginia  side.  This  apparent  injustive  proved  beneficial  to 
the  railroad,  as  is  shown  by  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
canal,  which  is  herein  set  forth. 

The  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac  is  mountainous  and  the 
tracks  were  laid  a  considerable  distance  above  the  river 
bed.  While  it  is  true  that  the  bridge  at  Harpers  Ferry 
has  been  washed  away  on  one  occasion,  the  location  of  the 
railroad  has  saved  it  from  being  destroyed  by  great  freshets, 
as  has  been  the  fate  of  the  canal  on  several  occasions,  the 
waters  of  the  Potomac  covering  the  low  ground  on  the  Mary 
land  side. 

The  correspondence  about  this  time  is  very  interesting, 
but  it  is  too  voluminous  to  insert  here.  We  find  General 
Samuel  Smith  a  strong  advocate  of  the  Railroad  Company, 
as  were  many  others,  including  Benjamin  C.  Howard,  then 
a  member  of  Congress,  a  man  of  high  character.  Mr. 
Howard,  in  a  letter  of  January  15,  1832,  speaking,  among 
other  things,  of  the  railroad  situation,  says: 


346  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"That  said  Potomac  interest  that  I  have  been  incessantly 
combatting  ever  since,  and  even  before  my  entrance  into 
political  life,  has  upon  the  final  struggle  proved  too  strong 
even  in  the  Temple  of  Justice,  into  which  prejudice  has 
crept,  hiding  itself  beneath  the  sacred  ermine  .  I . 
you  must  be  strangled,  or  to  use  a  modern  term  'burked,' 
that  your  body  may  be  sold  after  life  is  extinct." 

Mr.  Howard  uses  an  unusual,  but  very  appropriate  word 
in  this  letter.  The  word  "burke"  must  have  just  been 
coined,  for  it  grew  out  of  the  crimes  of  one  William  Burke 
who  was  hanged  in  1 829.  Burke  had  been  accustomed  to  sell 
bodies  to  a  college  for  dissection.  Not  satisfied  with  dispos 
ing  of  the  bodies  of  those  who  died  from  natural  causes,  he 
obtained  subjects  by  murder,  adopting  a  method  of  killing 
that  would  show  no  outward  sign  of  the  cause  of  death. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  William  Rawls,  the  well-known  law 
yer,  for  bringing  to  my  notice  the  first  recorded  use  of  the 
word.  Sir  Walter  Scott  had  advocated  the  passage  of  a 
reform  bill,  which,  however,  met  with  the  violent  opposition 
of  the  workmen  of  Jedburgh  in  1841.  They  surrounded  his 
house  during  a  demonstration  and  uttered  cries  of  "Burke 
Sir  Walter  Scott." 

Following  up  the  history  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal 
Company,  we  find  that  by  a  message  of  the  President  of 
December  3,  1823,  a  corps  of  engineers  were  appointed, 
and  $30,000.  appropriated  to  make  an  immediate  recon 
naissance  of  the  tide  waters  of  the  Potomac  River,  from  the 
head  of  the  steamboat  navigation  to  the  Ohio  River.  This 
reconnaissance  was  made,  and  it  was  suggested  that  the 
Maryland  side  of  the  Potomac  River  was  the  best  adapted 
for  the  canal.  Ultimately,  the  report  of  these  engineers 
put  the  cost  of  the  eastern  section  of  the  canal,  that  is, 
from  Georgetown  to  Cumberland,  at  something  over  eight 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  347 

million  of  dollars,  and  they  reported  that  the  entire  cost 
of  the  canal  would  be  something  over  twenty-two  mil 
lions.  This  report  was  made  and  published  on  the  7th 
of  December,  1826.  The  Canal  Company  objected  to  this 
report  as  being  entirely  contrary  to  their  own  views,  and 
two  other  engineers,  James  Geddes  and  Nathan  S.  Roberts, 
were  appointed  in  May,  1827.  They  made  a  report  on  the 
10th  of  March,  1828,  that  the  cost  of  the  eastern  section  of 
the  canal  would  be  about  four  and  one-half  million  dollars. 
Engineers,  therefore,  differed  somewhat  in  their  estimates, 
as  they  did  in  the  question  of  locality  and  the  effect  of  build 
ing  the  canal,  for  it  was  forcibly  contended  that  the  placing 
of  the  railroad  alongside  of  or  near  the  canal  would  not  in 
fact  increase  their  expense  very  greatly,  but  that  operating 
together  it  could  be  constructed  at  a  much  lower  rate. 
However,  the  Court  disregarded  this,  and  took  the  opinion 
of  one  engineer,  namely,  that  it  would  make  the  expense 
of  the  canal  infinitely  greater,  or  a  "canal impracticability;" 
the  Court  of  Appeals  having  made  up  its  mind  to  disregard 
all  views  which  would  entertain  the  existence  of  the  rail 
road.  In  the  meanwhile  the  stock  of  the  Canal  Company, 
which  was  to  be  subscribed  for  before  its  charter  could  ex 
ist,  was  not  subscribed  for  until  sometime  in  May,  1828. 
Of  this  stock  (about  nine  million  dollars)  seven  and  one- 
half  millions  were  subscribed  by  the  State  of  Maryland, 
one  million  being  subscribed  by  Congress  and  the  rest  by 
Georgetown  and  Alexandria.  With  this  money  the  great 
canal  was  constructed  as  far  as  Dam  No.  6  on  the  Potomac 
River,  many  miles  short  of  Cumberland,  which  was  the 
terminus  of  the  eastern  section  which,  according  to  Geddes 
and  Roberts,  was  to  cost  4f  millions.  By  1844  the  canal 
company  had  become  hopelessly  insolvent,  having  used  up 
the  money  subscribed  for  stock  and  loans  made  by  the 


348  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

State,  and  yet  not  completed  the  canal,  even  the  eastern 
section  being  unfinished.  By  a  new  act  passed  in  that  year 
the  canal  company  was  authorized  to  borrow  the  money 
necessary  to  complete  the  canal  as  far  as  Cumberland,  the 
State  subordinating  its  liens  under  various  mortgages  which 
it  held,  in  order  to  give  priority  to  this  loan  upon  the  tolls 
and  profits  of  the  canal. 

In  these  circumstances  the  company  was  able  to  borrow 
something  under  two  millions,  which  completed  the  canal  to 
Cumberland.  The  canal  was  operated  by  the  State  up  to 
the  year  1890.  During  the  whole  of  this  period,  with  the 
exception  of  a  year  or  two  between  1869  and,  I  think,  1872, 
when  the  President  of  the  Canal  Company  was  Mr.  James 
Clark,  it  never  paid  one  cent  of  interest  either  to  the  bond 
holders  of  1844  or  to  any  other  parties,  but  it  was  a  most 
valuable  political  asset.  Senator  Gorman  at  one  time  was 
President  of  this  waterway  and,  it  is  believed,  owed  his 
political  greatness  to  the  control  of  the  canal.  It  was  com 
monly  said  that  many  of  the  supervisors  and  superintend 
ents  of  the  canal  had  never  seen  it.  No  stronger  case  against 
State  or  City  ownership  can  be  shown  than  this.  As  long 
as  politicians  consider  their  own  and  party  aggrandisement 
rather  than  the  interest  of  the  City  or  State,  no  greater  mis 
take  can  be  made  than  to  place  in  their  hands  the  control 
of  public  utilities. 

I  recollect  that  some  time  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixties 
or  the  early  seventies,  I  found  in  a  wash-stand  drawer  cer 
tain  papers  or  bonds  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal 
Company,  issued  under  the  Act  of  1844,  and  I  asked  my 
mother  what  they  were.  She  said  it  was  an  investment  of 
my  father's  which  had  never  paid  anything  for  many, 
many  years,  and  was  worthless.  I  took  these  down  to  Wil 
son  &  Colston,  Brokers,  and  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  they 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  349 

took  an  interest  in  them,  and  said  that  it  might  be  possible 
to  secure  par  for  them,  or  $5,000.00  for  the  lot.  I  took 
them  then  to  Messrs.  Nicholson  &  Son,  I  think  it  was,  and 
sold  them  for  105  per  bond,  and  went  home  in  great  glee 
with  a  check  for  $5,500.  received  from  an  investment  which 
seemed  to  be  practically  worthless." 

It  was  at  this  period  that  Clark  was  in  charge,  and  had 
paid  some  of  the  coupons  on  the  bonds  of  1848,  issued  under 
the  act  of  1844.  There  was  an  effort  being  made  at  that 
time  by  a  syndicate  headed  by  Mr.  Stewart,  of  Richmond,  to 
acquire  these  bonds.  Proceedings  had  been  instituted  in 
different  courts — in  Washington  County  and  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  These  suits  were  con 
solidated,  and  the  result  was  a  decree  passed  by  Judge 
Alvey,  dated  the  2nd  of  October  1890,  which  placed  the 
bondholders  under  the  Act  of  1844  in  possession  of  the 
canal. 

At  this  time  it  was  declared  that  the  canal  was  utterly 
insolvent.  A  freshet  had  destroyed  a  great  part  of  the 
canal.  In  1878  $500,000.  had  been  borrowed  to  repair 
damages,  but  a  second  freshet  had  taken  place  since  that 
time,  and  at  the  time  of  the  filing  of  the  bill  in  1889  by 
George  S.  Brown  and  others,  trustees  of  preferred  construc 
tion  bonds  under  the  Act  of  1844,  Chapter  81,  the  canal  had 
been  wrecked  by  reason  of  a  storm  in  May  1889  and  was 
hopelessly  insolvent. 

This  bill  prayed  that  the  Trustees  under  the  mortgage 
should  be  allowed  to  take  possession  of  the  canal,  put  it  in 
order  and,  if  possible,  obtain  some  revenue  therefrom.  It 
was  resisted  by  the  State,  the  latter  claiming  that  while  it 
is  true  it  had  released  its  liens  for  the  purpose  of  placing 
this  mortgage  ahead  of  it,  the  mortgage  of  1848  was  not  a 
mortgage  on  the  corpus  of  the  canal,  but  merely  on  the 


350  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

tolls  and  profits,  and  that  it,  the  State,  was  desirous  of  hav 
ing  this  canal  sold.  The  Court  held,  and  it  seems  to  have 
been  an  equitable  decision,  that  the  State,  having  resigned 
its  rights  in  favor  of  these  bondholders  and  having  man 
aged  the  property  without  producing  any  revenue,  ought 
not  to  be  permitted  to  sell  the  canal  and  shut  off  the  bond 
holders  of  1844  from  any  claim  whatever  to  profits  and 
tolls — an  act  which  would  be  highly  inequitable;  that  the 
money  advanced  by  these  very  bondholders  completed  the 
canal,  and  they  were  entitled  to  see  whether  any  profits 
could  or  could  not  be  made  out  of  it  and,  until  such  time  as 
it  was  shown  that  there  could  be  no  profits,  they  were  to 
be  entitled  to  keep  possession.  A  period  was  fixed  within 
which  to  demonstrate  this,  and  these  bondholders  were  al 
lowed  to  purchase  the  claim  of  1878,  which  was  to  be  subro- 
gated  to  their  rights.  This  was  the  loan  of  $500,000.  and 
was  secured  by  a  mortage  not  only  on  the  tolls,  but  on  the 
corpus  of  the  canal.  These  trustees,  being  thus  in  control 
of  the  canal,  proceeded  to  expend  money  to  put  it  in  repair, 
but  the  tolls  and  profits  were  not  sufficient  to  pay  back  this 
expenditure  as  shown  in  the  case  of  State  of  Md.  v.  Trustees 
of  Mortgage  of  1848,  83  Md.  549.  The  State,  being  anxious 
to  get  back  its  valuable  political  asset,  although  it  was  of 
no  value  financially,  filed  a  bill  to  enforce  the  sale  of  the 
property.  It  was  again  met  by  an  opinion  of  the  Court 
that  it  would  be  inequitable  to  oust  these  trustees.  Judge 
McSherry  filed  an  additional  opinion.  He  agreed  with  the 
majority,  but  he  took  issue  with  them  upon  their  opinion 
that  the  mortgage  of  1844  merely  pledged  the  tolls  and  prof 
its,  and  claimed  that  in  equity,  in  view  of  the  circumstances 
(and  he  recites  the  history  of  the  canal  at  great  length), 
the  State  should  not  be  permitted  at  any  time  to  take 
possession  of  this  canal  until  the  mortgage  of  1844  was 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  351 

paid  off,  and  it  would  seem  that  this  is  the  only  logical  posi 
tion  to  take  and  should  be  the  decision. 

The  State,  still  anxious  to  get  possession,  filed  another 
bill,  the  proceedings  of  which  appear  in  94  Maryland,  but 
again  the  time  was  extended,  and  today  the  Trustees  of 
the  mortgage  of  1848  or  the  mortgage  made  under  the  Act 
of  1844,  are  in  possession  of  the  canal. 

In  looking  over  the  opinion  of  Judge  Robinson,  we  find  he 
uses  the  following  language: — 

"  A  good  deal  has  been  said  about  the  veil  which  conceals 

the  real  motives,  &c But  we  must  deal  with 

the  case  as  we  find  it."  The  fact  is  that  it  was  strongly 
suspected,  and  was  probably  true,  that  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Railroad  joined  with  Mr.  Bryan,  who  was  a  son-in-law 
of  Mr.  Stewart,  in  the  acquisition  of  the  bonds  issued  under 
the  Act  of  1844,  and  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  Railroad  is  today  in  possession  and  control  of  the 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal. 

While  no  one  who  knows  the  morals  of  railroads  is  apt  to 
think  or  believe  that  it  has  been  actuated  by  high  or  lofty 
motives,  there  seems  to  be  some  sort  of  poetic  justice  in  the 
fact  that,  after  the  wrong  sustained  by  the  railroad  by  the 
decision  of  1832  in  favor  of  the  Canal  Company,  this  great 
national  enterprise,  which  ended  at  Cumberland,  and  which 
has  been  used  since  its  creation  merely  as  a  political  in 
strument,  should  finally  drop  into  the  lap  of  its  competitor, 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  which  is  described  as  being 
an  odious  and  enormous  monopoly,  while  its  competitor  is 
described  as  a  great  national  enterprise!  In  Mr.  Latrobe's 
diary  we  find  entries  which  show  that  he  not  only  acted  as 
counsel,  but  in  other  capacities  on  behalf  of  the  road.  As 
stated,  he  prepared  the  speech  delivered  at  the  time  the  cor 
nerstone  was  laid. 


352  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"September  5,  1833.  Gave  directions  for  making  new 
model  of  cars. 

"September  6,  1833.  At  Reeder's  Engine  Shop,  to  give 
directions  about  locomotive  engine,  Davis'  Building. 

"September  7,  1833.  At  work  on  the  7th  Annual  Report 
of  B.  &  O. 

"My  relations  with  the  railroad  were  at  this  time,  as 
they  have  since  continued,  close.  I  was  not  only  counsel, 
but  my  engineering  knowledge  made  me  useful  otherwise, 
and  I  was  not  averse  to  the  occasional  mingling  of  the  two 
professions.  In  a  lecture  delivered  before  the  Maryland 
Institute  in  1868, 1  have  sketched  the  presidents  and  direc- 
ors  of  that  day,  and,  if  you  have  any  curiosity  on  the  sub 
ject,  I  refer  you  to  that  production  which  the  railroad 
company  treats  as  a  part  of  its  history. 

"Looking  back  to  these  days,  I  find  with  no  pretentions 
to  modesty  that  I  wonder  at  the  confidence  I  must  have 
inspired  before  I  was  thirty  years  of  age.  Among  my  cor 
respondence  will  be  found  a  letter  to  Mr.  Philip  E.  Thomas, 
then  the  President  of  the  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  Company,  declining 
the  Vice-Presidency  which  had  been  offered  me,  an  office 
which,  had  I  accepted  it,  would  have  cast  the  life  of  the 
young  lawyer  to  whom  the  salary  was  a  temptation  into 
a  different  groove — with  what  an  ending  I  cannot  venture  to 
guess  at — from  that  which  he  has  since  been  travelling 
in." 

This  letter,  declining  to  consider  the  position  of  assistant 
to  the  President,  seems  of  sufficient  interest  to  reproduce. 
A  production  of  such  a  character  will  give  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  man  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch  than 
anything  I  might  write.  When  this  letter  was  written  he 
was  thirty  years  of  age: 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  353 

" Dear  Sir:— 

"Upon  a  recent  occasion,  you  informed  me  that  there 
existed  some  idea,  in  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  to  appoint,  at  the  suggestion 
of  the  President,  an  assistant  to  that  office,  and  you  desired 
to  know  whether,  if  such  appointment  were  decided  upon, 
I  would  accept  it. 

"I  need  hardly  assure  you  how  flattering  I  consider  the 
intimation  which  you  gave  that  I  might  aid  you  in  the  high 
and  responsible  station  that  you  hold;  and  I  almost  regret 
the  circumstances  that  would  compel  me  to  decline  the 
office,  were  the  offer  of  it  made  to  me.  But  the  profession 
that  I  have  chosen  limits  in  a  great  measure  my  employ 
ments  to  those  connected  with  its  pursuits;  and  so  long  as  it 
continues  to  support  me  as  it  has  done,  I  would  not  be 
justified  to  myself  or  others  in  neglecting  or  abandoning  it. 
Although,  however,  I  cannot  be  your  assistant  as  an  execu 
tive  officer  of  the  Company,  yet  if  I  can  in  any  degree  lighten 
your  labors,  I  beg  you  to  call  upon  me,  not  merely  as  one 
of  the  counsel  of  the  Company,  but  as  one  who  is  deeply 
indebted  to  you  for  repeated  acts  of  kindness.  Early  edu 
cation  and  habits,  whose  influences  even  now  affect  me, 
make  me  feel  a  more  than  ordinary  interest  in  the  success 
of  the  road,  and  if,  by  any  exertions  of  mine,  I  can,  in  the 
smallest  or  most  remote  degree,  promote  it,  I  shall  be  no 
less  gratified  than  proud. 

"Since  our  conversation  before  alluded  to,  I  have  thought 
much  upon  the  nature  of  the  new  office  that  it  is  proposed 
to  create,  and  presuming  still  further  upon  your  kindness, 
I  will  take  the  liberty  of  suggesting  what  occurred  to  me 
when  I  considered  myself  personally  interested  in  the 
subject. 


354  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"The  appointment  of  an  assistant  President  would 
amount  to  dividing  between  two  persons  the  duties  which 
are  performed  in  other  companies  by  one.  Now  in  order  to 
decide  upon  the  necessity  for  this  division  in  the  Balto.  & 
Ohio  R.  R.  Co.,  we  must  ascertain  what  are  the  duties  of 
the  President  of  that  body.  They  consist  in  acting  as  the 
presiding  officer  and  official  organ  of  the  Board  of  Direc 
tors  and  the  Company;  in  conducting  the  correspondence; 
and  in  exercising  a  controlling  superintendence  over  all 
inferior  officers.  In  the  first  of  these  duties,  the  President 
could  neither  require  nor  receive  assistance,  and  with  regard 
to  the  second,  the  experience  of  the  last  three  years  has 
shown  how  absolutely  essential  it  is  that  the  correspondence 
of  the  company  should  evince  throughout  the  undeviating 
thought  and  purpose  of  a  single  mind.  To  divide  it  between 
two  persons  would  be  to  run  the  risk  in  ninety-nine  cases 
out  of  a  hundred  of  manifold  and,  perhaps,  injurious 
inconsistencies. 

"The  duty  of  the  President  to  exercise  a  superintendence 
over  all  the  officers  of  the  Company  is  that,  in  reference  to 
which  the  idea  of  an  assistant  most  probably  originated. 
I  think,  however,  that  even  here  it  will  be  found  upon  con 
sideration  that  a  proper  organization  of  the  Company,  such 
as  is  now  rapidly  progressing,  will  render  the  appointment 
of  an  assistant  President,  for  this  purpose,  unnecessary;  and 
unless  such  an  appointment  is  a  matter  of  absolute  neces 
sity,  there  are  evils  that  might  arise  out  of  it  that  should 
prevent  its  being  made. 

"It  appears  to  me  that  the  business  of  the  Company, 
other  than  that  which,  as  above  shown,  belongs  exclusively 
to  the  President,  may  be  divided  into  three  departments. 
1.  The  fiscal  concerns  of  the  Company;  2.  The  location  and 
construction  of  the  road,  the  laying  of  rails,  preparation  of 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  355 

machinery,  building  of  depots,  and  the  collection  and  preser 
vation  of  materials,  and  3.  Transportation. 

"  1.  At  the  head  of  the  first  Department  is  the  Treasurer 
of  the  Company,  and  connected  with  him  are  the  Auditor, 
the  Transfer  officer,  clerks,  book  keepers,  &c. 

"2.  At  the  head  of  the  second  department  is  the  Chief 
Engineer  with  various  branches,  each  governed  by  a  proper 
officer  to  be  responsible  for  its  condition. 

"The  Chief  Engineer  is,  himself,  the  head  of  the  first 
branch  of  his  department,  having  control  of  the  location  of 
the  Road  and  the  principles  upon  which  it  is  constructed. 

"The  superintendent  of  Graduation  and  Masonry  is  the 
second  officer  of  this  Department,  with  his  duties  clearly 
defined  by  his  title.  On  this  officer  might  be  devolved  the 
business  of  obtaining  titles  to  land  required  for  the  road, 
having  recourse,  when  necessary,  to  the  counsel  for  the 
Company. 

"The  superintendent  of  Construction.  This  officer  has 
the  management  of  laying  the  rails  and  all  matters  con 
nected  therewith;  the  construction  and  arrangement  of 
depots  and  the  collection  and  preservation  of  all  necessary 
materials.  He  might  also  be  required  to  procure  title  by 
condemnation,  with  the  assistance  of  the  counsel  for  the 
Company,  for  stone,  timber  and  sites  for  depots,  &c.,  when 
necessary. 

"The  superintendent  of  Machinery.  This  officer  has  the 
control  of  the  construction  of  all  vehicles  to  be  used  on  the 
road;  the  preparation  and  preservation  of  material  for  them, 
and  the  repair  of  them,  when  required.  The  two  officers 
last  named,  are  more  particularly  under  the  immediate 
direction  of  the  Chief  Engineer. 

"3.  The  superintendent  of  Transportation  is  at  the  head 
of  the  third  department  and  should  have  the  control  of  the 


356  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

entire  Transportation  upon  the  road;  the  procuring  and 
providing  of  the  care  of  horses;  the  purchase  of  fuel  for  en 
gines;  the  government  of  depots,  depot  keepers,  hands  em 
ployed  at  depots,  and  drivers  and  conductors  of  trains; 
the  receipt,  weighing,  storage  and  delivery  of  goods;  and  the 
preservation  of  the  cars  and  carriages  of  all  kinds  on  the 
road,  both  while  in  actual  use  and  while  unemployed. 
This  Department  will  probably  require  subdivision  into 
various  branches,  as  the  road  extends  and  transportation 
increases. 

"In  the  arrangement  here  detailed,  and  which  is  now 
rapidly  going  into  efficient  operation,  there  is  no  part  of 
the  business  of  the  Company,  which  is  not  provided  for; 
and  if  the  officers  of  the  several  Departments  and  branches 
do  their  duty,  as  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  they 
will  do,  no  labor  will  fall  upon  the  President  that  he  will  be 
unable  to  sustain,  and  when  they  neglect  their  duty,  whether 
there  is  an  assistant  President  or  not,  the  President  is  the 
only  proper  person  to  act. 

"Each  of  the  superintendents  should  be  held  responsible 
for  the  correct  execution  of  his  respective  work;  and  the 
heads  of  the  three  Departments  that  I  have  named  should 
be  considered,  each  for  his  own  Department,  as  the  assist 
ant  of  the  President,  aiding  him  in  the  discharge  of  those 
duties  which  it  might  create,  with  an  efficiency  that  would 
be  the  natural  consequence  of  his  own  practical  skill,  science 
or  experience.  The  Treasurer,  the  Chief  Engineer,  and 
the  Superintendent  of  Transportation  should,  in  fine,  per 
form  the  duty  that  would  be  required  of  the  Assistant  Presi 
dent,  and  should  be  chosen,  as  they  now  are,  for  such  quali 
fications  as  would  entitle  them  to  the  same  confidence  that 
the  assistant  President,  were  he  appointed,  would  receive. 

"In  all  companies  and  societies  experience  has  shown  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  357 

policy  of  having  but  one  executive  head.  If,  in  the  proposed 
arrangement,  it  is  intended  that  the  President  shall  still 
be  consulted,  and  agree  upon  all  matters  as  they  arise,  af 
fecting  the  interests  of  the  work,  his  labors  will  be  in  no 
wise  diminished  by  it.  If,  with  a  view  to  diminishing  them, 
however,  they  are  divided  into  distinct  parts  with  the 
Assistant  President,  the  probability  is  that  the  same  work 
may  be  carried  on  under  different  systems  of  policy,  the 
consequence  of  the  different  modes  of  thinking  of  the  two 
officers.  Directors,  superintendents,  contractors  and  stock 
holders  will  all  find  themselves,  perhaps,  involuntarily  tak 
ing  sides  and  giving  their  preference  to  one  or  other  of  the 
divided  executive,  until  a  scene  of  confusion  ensues,  similar 
to  that  which  you  no  doubt  recollect  to  have  occurred  in 
the  proceedings  of  a  Board  lately  subordinate  to  your  au 
thority.  There  is  no  more  reason  why  there  should  be  two 
Presidents — which  would  be  in  fact  the  case,  if  the  duties 
of  the  President  were  divided  hi  order  to  diminish  their 
labor — than  that  there  should  be  three  Chief  Engineers, 
instead  of  one;  and  upon  the  policy  of  this  the  Board  of 
Directors  have  already  had  considerable  experience,  and 
have  pronounced  their  opinion. 

"Require,  Sir,  that  the  officers  already  mentioned  shall 
themselves  relieve  you  of  the  burden  of  the  labors  that  their 
respective  departments  give  rise  to.  If  they  want  more 
assistance,  give  it  to  them;  if  you  want  more  superintend 
ents  for  other  branches,  appoint  them;  if  any  department  or 
branch  is  too  large,  divide  it,  but  adhere  to  and  insist  upon 
the  principle  of  holding  the  head  of  each  branch  responsible; 
and  you  will  have  gained  the  object  proposed,  without  in 
curring  the  risk  of  the  appointment  of  an  officer  who  might, 
perhaps,  afford  you  some  assistance,  but  who  might,  quite 
as  probably,  only  serve  as  a  clog  to  that  activity,  which 


358  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

you  have  hitherto  so  efficiently  exerted  on  behalf  of  the  in 
terests  of  the  Company. 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  labor  you  have  undergone; 
but  you  have  now  successfully  passed  the  most  arduous 
period  of  the  Company's  existence.  Like  a  well  regulated 
machine,  the  increased  complication  of  the  work  it  is  en 
gaged  in  does  not  derange  its  motion.  The  task  of  putting 
it  together  and  adjusting  each  part  to  its  proper  place  was 
one  of  difficulty  and  doubt ;  but  that  is  now  all  happily  ac 
complished;  and  in  the  future  aspirations  of  the  Company 
I  feel  satisfied  that  you  will  experience  none,  or  but  very 
little,  of  that  perplexity  and  those  harassing  circumstances 
that  have  hitherto  affected  you  and  probably  given  rise 
to  the  plan  that  I  have  thus  taken  the  liberty  to  comment 
upon.  If  the  occasion  for  the  proposed  appointment  ever 
really  existed,  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  now  past. 

"In  extending  a  note,  that  might  have  been  very  brief, 
to  this  unreasonable  length,  I  must  find  my  apology  in  your 
kindness,  and  in  my  own  interest  in  whatever  concerns  the 
Company.    And  I  beg  you  to  believe  me  sincere,  when  I 
again  express  my  hope  that  if  any  labor  on  my  part  can  do 
you  service  you  will  call  upon  me  to  render  it,  not  merely 
as  counsel,  but  as  a  friend  and  well  wisher. 
Very  truly  and  respectfully, 
Yours 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe." 

"Philip  E.  Thomas,  Esq., 

President,  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Company." 

"Somewhere,  I  think  in  1835-6,  people  in  Baltimore  had 
become  satisfied  that  it  was  a. more  difficult  matter  to  build 
a  railroad  to  the  Ohio  than  was  anticipated  when  the  charter 
of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  was  obtained  in  1827. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  359 

And  Mr.  Thomas,  who  was  doing  as  much  as  any  man  could 
do  in  the  office  of  President,  began  to  lose  the  popularity 
that  eight  or  nine  years  before  had  placed  him  far  above  all 
others  of  his  fellow  citizens.  No  allowances  were  made  for 
circumstances  which  it  was  impossible  to  control.  Things 
deemed  wise  at  the  time  of  adoption  were  found  by  experi 
ence  to  be  unwise;  and  ignorance  which  was  common  to  all 
the  engineers  in  the  country  in  1828  and  for  years  after 
wards  was  attributed  to  Mr.  Thomas.  A  disappointed  pub 
lic,  a  dissatisfied  body  of  stockholders,  needed  a  scapegoat, 
and  Mr.  Thomas  was  made  one,  most  unjustly,  for  perhaps 
no  other  person  in  the  community  could  have  done  what  he 
did  more  honestly,  more  prudently,  or  in  any  respect  better, 
during  the  period  of  his  presidency.  But  it  was  clear  that 
he  would  have  to  resign,  and  resign  he  did  in  1836,  I  think, 
and  Joseph  W.  Patterson  was  his  temporary  successor,  a 
wealthy  gentleman,  clear  headed  and  cautious,  but  unwill 
ing  to  hold  the  place  permanently." 
The  following  is  an  entry  in  Mr.  Latrobe's  diary: 
"November  7,  1835 — Mr.  Thomas  called  and  handed  me 
a  letter  showing  that  he  intended  to  resign  the  Presidency 
of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio,  and  stated  that  his  reason  for  this 
was  that  he  was  tired,  and  that  he  had  done  so  much  for  the 
Railroad,  which  was  unpopular,  that  he  felt  discouraged. 
I  told  him  that  it  would  be  a  great  pity  for  a  man  who  had 
really  been  more  instrumental  in  starting  this  enterprise 
than  anyone  else  to  give  it  up,  and  that  if  a  higher  dividend 
would  be  paid,  he  would  find  that  the  public  would  change 
their  views. 

"Casting  about  now  for  a  President,   Mr.  Louis    W. 
McLane*  was  thought  of.    He  had  been  Secretary  of  the 

*Mrs.  M.  B.  Smith,  in  "The  first  forty  years  of  Washington  Society,"  speaks  of 
Louis  McLane  of  Delaware.    This  was  the  Mr.  Louis  McLane  who  accepted  the 


360  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Treasury  in  1831,  Secretary  of  State  in  1833  and  Minister 
to  England,  and  was  at  the  time  President  of  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  Canal  and  Banking  Company,  residing  in  New 
York.  Mr.  Fallison,  Mr.  James  Swarm  and  myself  were 
delegated  a  committee  to  visit  him  and  offer  to  him  the 
place,  and  accordingly  in  the  winter  of  1836-7  we  went  in 
stage  coaches  to  New  York,  saw  Mr.  McLane,  dined  with 
him,  offered  him  the  presidency  which  he  accepted,  and 
came  back,  still  in  stages,  to  Baltimore.*  On  our  way  back, 
there  were  two  vehicles  in  company.  The  front  one  up 
setting,  I  went  with  other  occupants  of  the  second  to  the 
assistance  of  the  wrecked  passengers.  The  upturned  stage 
lay  upon  its  side,  and  out  of  the  window  of  the  door  they 
were  drawn  one  by  one,  some  trouble  which  I  have  forgotten 
preventing  our  opening  the  door  itself.  When  my  hand  was 
inserted  into  the  opening,  it  was  grasped  by  a  lady,  the  dis 
tinguished  actress  Madame  Celeste.  No  one  was  hurt, 
however,  and  the  accident  is  mentioned  here  as  a  mem 
orandum  of  the  way  of  getting  to  New  York  thirty-five 
years  ago. 

An  entry  in  Mr.  Latrobe's  diary,  October  28,  1835 : 

"" Celeste  'the  Wept.'     Of  all  the  splendid  pictures  that  I 

ever  saw,  the  performances  of  this  eminent  actress  are  the 

most  perfect.    Every  attitude  is  grace,  every  expression  of 

her  countenance  is  eloquence,  and  though  no  word  falls 

Presidency  of  the  B.  &  O.  He  was  in  the  Senate  from  Delaware,  and  Mrs.  Smith 
speaks  of  a  visit  from  his  wife,  January  1829,  in  which  she  says: — 

"Mrs.  McLane  of  Delaware  has  come.  'How  many  children  have  you  brought 
with  you?'  I  said.  'Let  me  see,  three  and  a  half.  Am  I  not  venturesome  to  come 
with  half  finished  work?'  Her  husband  has  staked  everything  upon  his  political 
measures. " 

*The  salary  of  four  thousand  dollars  a  year  was  sufficiently  tempting  to  in 
duce  Mr.  McLane  to  give  up  his  position  in  New  York.  There  has  been  a  change 
since  those  days.  Not  long  since  Mr.  Lorie,  it  is  understood,  received  $500,000 
from  the  Chicago  and  Rock  Island.  He  occupied  the  position  of  President  for 
a  year. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  361 

from  her  lips,  yet  thought  and  feeling  are  as  visible  and 
intelligible  as  though  poetry  flowed  from  her  tongue,  instead 
of  being  expressed  only  in  the  magic  movement  of  her  form." 
Others  appreciated  her  besides  Mr.  Latrobe,  for  she  made  a 
very  successful  stay  in  the  United  States,  her  receipts 
being  placed  at  some  $200,000,  a  large  sum  in  those  days. 

"Mr.  McLane  continued  to  be  President  of  the  B.  &  O. 
R.  R.  Company  for  ten  years,  and  during  his  administra 
tion  the  work  was  completed  to  Cumberland  (1846) .  I  never 
was  quite  sure  that  he  took  much  interest  in  his  office.  He 
had  an  able,  practical  board  of  directors — H.  W.  Evans, 
Columbus  O'Donnell,  Joseph  Wilkins,  George  Brown,  of 
Brown  Brothers,  Johns  Hopkins,  who  subsequently  left 
his  fortune  to  found  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  and  the  Uni 
versity,  Fielding  Lucas,  and  others — and  there  was  little 
to  be  done  that  required  much  more  than  business  talents. 
The  great  trouble  was  the  right  of  way  beyond  Cumberland. 
The  route  to  Parkersburg  was  open  to  the  Company  and 
should  have  been  adopted,  and  so  most  men  thought.  Mr. 
McLane  thought  otherwise,  and  was  able  to  carry  a  ma 
jority  with  him  and  the  right  of  way,  which  it  required  af 
terwards  so  much  trouble  to  regain,  was  lost — for  the  time, 
at  all  events. 

"The  road  to  Cumberland  from  Harper's  Ferry  was  built 
with  the  stock  holdings  of  the  Company,  based  upon  the 
City  of  Baltimore  subscription  of  three  millions  to  the  capi 
tal  stock.  My  impression  is  that  this  was  a  suggestion  of 
Mr.  H.  W.  Evans.  I  know  that  upon  Mr.  Evans,  Mr.  F. 
Lucas  and  myself  devolved  the  work  of  carrying  out  the 
plan. 

"Among  many  able  men  with  whom  I  have  been  brought 
in  contact,  I  never  met  one,  I  do  not  except  Mr.  Webster 
even,  who  possessed  in  the  same  degree  the  faculty  of  stat- 


362  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

ing  a  case  clearly;  and  along  with  his  statement  he  made 
an  argument  in  support  of  it,  without  doing  more  than  to 
present  his  facts.  I  did  not  regard  Mr.  McLane  as  having 
the  soundest  judgment.  I  have  had  professionally  to  differ 
from  him  in  opinion,  but  to  form  my  own  judgment  I  re 
quired  time  after  hearing  him,  as  I  have  told  him  again  and 
again.  His  powers  of  statement  were  indeed  most  remark 
able.  Mr.  McLane  was  not  a  lawyer.  Although  so  much  in 
public  life,  he  was  not  a  politician.  I  place  him  in  the 
category  of  statesmen  and  high  up  on  the  list.  Of  course 
I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him  during  his  presidency.  He  was 
not  a  pleasant  person  to  get  along  with.  He  was  peremptory 
and  at  times  uncertain,  and  would  not  abide  opposition  or 
differences  of  opinion;  and  there  were  seasons  in  which  it 
was  doubtful  whether  I  would  remain  his  counsel.  There 
were  occasions,  too,  when  I  was  satisfied  he  would  have 
removed  me  from  the  position  I  held  in  the  Company,  had 
he  felt  sure  it  would  have  been  approved  by  his  board.  I 
was  no  doubt  positive  and  unyielding  too,  and  looking  back 
I  am  inclined  to  confess  that,  if  we  did  not  at  times,  and  at 
times  only,  agree,  I  may  have  been  in  fault  too.  Generally, 
we  were  on  cordial  terms,  and  now  that  I  survive  him,  I 
take  great  pleasure  in  recording  my  estimate  of  his  great 
and  statesmanlike  qualities. 

"That  we  parted  good  friends  is  proved  by  my  being  his 
counsellor  in  all  matters  connected  with  his  leaving  the 
company,  at  the  expiration  of  ten  years  of  service.  I  was 
the  only  person  in  whose  judgment  in  this  connection  he 
seemed  to  have  confidence.  The  public  and  the  stockhold 
ers  had  become  dissatisfied,  the  road  stopped  at  Cumber 
land,  and  the  same  circumstances  that  operated  to  remove 
Mr.  Thomas  and  make  Mr  McLane  President,  now  bore 
upon  Mr.  McLane.  He  would  have  retained  his  place,  if  he 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  363 

could  have  done  so,  but  there  was  a  violent  opposition,  and 
the  result  of  the  election  was  doubtful.  I  thought  he  might 
succeed,  and  left  him  with  the  belief  the  day  before  the 
election  that  he  was  going  to  stand  a  poll,  when  I  received 
a  note  saying  he  had  changed  his  mind  and  would  decline 
being  a  candidate.  This  left  the  field  open  for  Mr.  Swann, 
who  was  then  unanimously  elected. 

"After  the  election  Mr.  McLane,  who  had  not  yet  then 
written  his  annual  report,  asked  me  to  prepare  one  for  him, 
and  the  last  report  of  his  happens  to  be  verbatim,  without 
alteration,  my  work.  I  mention  this  now  to  my  own  dis 
advantage,  perhaps,  should  a  comparison  be  made  by  you 
between  my  work  and  his.  I  mention  it,  however,  as  a 
proof  that  I  had  to  the  last  the  confidence  of  one  of  the 
ablest  men  it  has  been  my  fortune  to  come  in  contact  with, 

"  Of  all  the  Presidents  of  the  Company  since  I  have  been 
its  counsel,  the  ablest,  most  energetic  and  of  the  widest 
scope,  was  the  late  John  W.  Garrett  who  died  in  office  a 
victim  to  his  absolute  and  untiring  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  the  road.  It  was  my  fortune  to  be  in  his  confidence,  and 
he  was  my  personal  friend. 

"I  might  fill  a  volume  with  details  of  my  experiences  as 
counsel  of  the  Company.  But  I  have  said  enough." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ACQUAINTANCES  FORMED  BY  MR.  LATROBE  AFTER  1830 
AND  STUDENTS  WHO  STUDIED  IN  His  OFFICE — DIRECTORS 
OF  THE  UNION  BANK  AND  COUNCIL — BANK  RIOTS,  1835 

Mr.  Latrobe  gives  a  number  of  pen  portraits  of  men  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact.  Among  others,  he  describes 
David  Crockett,  whom  he  met  in  Washington.  Crockett's 
fame  rests  chiefly  on  his  ability  as  a  rifle  shot.  Everybody 
is  familiar  with  the  story  which  portrays  the  hopeless  situa 
tion  of  a  coon  discovered  up  a  tree  by  Crockett.  "Don't 
shoot,  Mr.  Crockett,  I'll  come  down,"  said  the  coon;  and 
this  saying  serves  even  today  to  express  the  attitude  of 
a  person  who  is  willing  to  surrender  when  defense  is 
desperate. 

David  Crockett  was  unquestionably  a  rough  character, 
lacking  education.  He  was  the  typical  pioneer  of  the  early 
days,  when  it  required  pluck  and  courage  to  push  forward 
in  a  new  country.  He  was  every  inch  a  man.  In  1836,  prob 
ably  realizing  that  he  was  out  of  place  in  Washington  as 
a  member  of  the  law-making  body,  he  joined  the  Texans  in 
their  fight  with  Mexico.  He  was  one  of  the  hundred  and 
forty  men  who  defended  the  Alamo,  and  was  one  of  the  six 
survivors  who  surrendered  and  were  shot  by  order  of  Santa 
Anna,  in  direct  violation  of  the  terms  of  surrender. 

I  find  the  following  entries  in  Mr.  Latrobe's  diary: 

"  Friday,  December  20th,  1833.  Yesterday  at  McHeath's 
I  met  Colonel  David  Crockett,  a  man  whom  the  ignorance 
of  the  people  in  his  district  in  Tennessee  has  sent  to  Con- 

364 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  365 

gress  to  represent  it;  and  whom  the  bad  taste  of  the  present 
day  has  brought  into  notoriety  on  account  of  those  very 
characteristics  which,  in  a  better  state  of  society,  would 
sink  into  utter  contempt  and  insignificance.  Colonel  Crock 
ett  is  a  tall  muscular  man  of  a  good  face  rather,  and  one 
whom,  dressed  in  a  ploughman's  frock  with  a  flail  over  his 
shoulder,  we  would  esteem  a  good  representative  of  that 
class;  or  who,  to  meet  him  in  the  woods  with  a  rifle  on  his 
shoulder  and  clad  in  deer  skin,  we  would  say  was  a  proper 
hunter.  Dressed  in  the  clothing  of  a  gentleman  and  occu 
pying  a  seat  in  the  National  Legislature,  he  is  as  much  out 
of  his  element  as  he  well  can  be.  Colonel  Crockett  is  a  man 
who  boasts.  For  why  he  should  tell  it  except  to  boast  of  it, 
I  know  not — that,  when  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
he  did  not  know  how  to  write  his  name,  but  having  a  pretty 
smart  constable,  he  managed  to  get  along  well  enough. 
Furthermore,  he  says  that  happening  to  meet  Mr.  Polk  of 
Tennessee,*  when  the  latter  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
of  that  State,  Mr.  Polk  said  to  him  that  there  would  be 
probably  a  reform  in  the  Judiciary,  the  meaning  of  which 
the  Colonel  not  understanding,  he  "forthwith  made  tracks" 
— that  is  walked  off  to  hide  his  ignorance.  And  yet  this 
is  a  man  who  exercises  an  influence  over  the  destinies  of 
the  American  people,  engaged  as  they  are  in  the  perfecting 
of  the  best  system  of  government  which  the  world  has  yet 
seen.  They  say  the  Colonel  is  shrewd  and  sensible.  Maybe 
so,  but  he  is  ignorant  and  vulgar. 

"December  30th.  Enclosed  to  Robert  Gilmor  a  cover  of 
a  letter  with  David  Crockett's  frank  upon  it,  that  Mr.  Gil 
mor  who  is  a  collector  of  autographs  might  have  a  speci 
men  of  the  sign  manual  of  the  wild  beast  who  has  got  into 
Congress." 

*( Afterwards  President.) 


366  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Among  the  men  who  worked  with  Mr.  Latrobe  in  Colo 
nization  matters  were  Gerritt  Smith,  Leonard  Bacon  and 
Seth  Terry.  In  his  diary  he  writes: 

"Elliott  Emerson  called  upon  me  and  took  me  to  see  Ger 
ritt  Smith,  Leonard  Bacon,  Seth  Terry,  and  a  Mr.  White 
on  the  way  to  Washington  to  a  Colonization  meeting. 

"Gerritt  Smith  is  a  tall,  strongly  made  man,  with  marked 
features,  dark  eyes  and  hair,  and  of  a  benevolent  and  sen 
sible  expression  of  countenance.  His  air  and  manner  are 
dignified  and  imposing,  and  he  well  looks  his  character  of  a 
man  of  great  wealth,  devoted  to  the  concurring  in  and  exe 
cution  of  plans  of  benevolence.* 

"Leonard  Bacon — distinguished  as  a  colonizationist,  rather 
under  the  common  size,  with  light  hair,  eyes  and  eyebrows, 
and  his  hair  being  close  cut,  he  has  a  parsonlike  appearance, 
but  without  much  humility  of  expression  of  countenance, 
for  his  eye  is  quick,  his  mouth  determined,  and  his  utter 
ance  rapid.  He  is  certainly  a  man  of  talent. 

"  Seth  Terry,  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  is 
a  tall,  thin  man  with  gray  hair,  bold  forehead,  and  altogether 
marked  face;  his  complexion  is  dark,  his  manner  gallant, 
and  there  is  some  humor  in  his  countenance." 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  a  strong  Jackson  man,  but  in  a  number 
of  places  he  states  his  admiration  for  the  qualities  of  Henry 
Clay,  who  was  at  one  time  President  of  the  Colonization 
Society.  On  the  visit  to  Washington,  he  met  Mr.  Clay  at 
the  Society's  office.  He  relates: 

"I  found  Mr.  Clay  with  Dr.  Alexander.  The  Committee 
having  been  introduced  and  seated,  Mr.  Clay  continued  a 
conversation  in  which  he  had  been  engaged  with  the  Doctor, 
inveighed  strongly  against  the  corruption  which  pervaded 

*He  gave  money  to  John  Brown,  but  was  not  implicated  in  the  latter's  attack 
on  Harper's  Ferry. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  367 

the  administration  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
particularly  the  Department  of  Indian  affairs  and  Public 
Lands.  He  gave  an  instance  of  the  corruption  in  the  last. 
He  said,  however,  the  republic  was  never  to  be  despaired 
of.  He  described  General  Jackson  as  adhering  to  his 
friends,  through  good  and  evil  report,  deeming  the  most 
venal  virtuous,  not  having  judgment  or  discernment  to  dis 
tinguish  between  them.  Dr.  Alexander  was  polite  enough 
to  say  that  the  Jackson  party,  of  which  I  happened  to  be 
one,  was  a  set  of  banditti,  in  reply  to  an  observation  of 
Mr.  Clay's  that  the  General's  attachment  to  his  friends  was 
to  his  credit.  Mr.  Clay  is  a  polite,  eloquent  gentleman, 
but  a  politician.  Dr.  Alexander  is  but  a  farthing  candle 
alongside  of  the  sun  when  compared  with  him.  Mr.  Clay 
and  I  are  not  on  the  same  side,  though  I  admit  no  less  his 
splendid  talent. 

"Had  a  short  conversation  with  Van  Buren,  in  which, 
when  I  mentioned  my  anxiety  lest  Mr.  Taney's  appointment 
should  not  be  confirmed,  he  told  me  he  thought  that  there 
was  nothing  to  apprehend  on  that  score.  I  said  to  him 
sotto  wee,  the  tone  for  his  class  of  politician,  'If  he  should  be 
rejected,  Sir,  I  trust  the  people  will  support  him  as  they  did 
you,'  alluding  to  his  nomination  and  election  as  Vice 
President,  after  the  Senate  had  refused  to  confirm  him  as 
Minister  to  England.  He  bowed,  smiled,  and  I  changed 
the  conversation. 

"Had  a  conversation  with  Judge  Wayne  who,  if  the 
present  Speaker  of  the  House  should  leave  the  seat,  will 
no  doubt  be  chosen  Speaker.  I  asked  him  if  it  would  not 
be  well  if  the  President  in  his  message  had  recommended 
the  repeal  of  the  'Force  Bill,'  so  called.  The  occasion  for 
it  I  thought  had  passed,  and  to  repeal  it  would  be  a  conces 
sion  which  the  majority  might  make  without  a  sacrifice  of 


368  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

dignity.  The  Judge  thought  differently,  and  I  understood 
from  him  that  the  repeal  of  the  'Force  Bill'*  will  be  re 
sisted  by  the  Administration." 

Colonization  had  among  its  advocates  in  those  days  some 
of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the  day;  and  Mr.  Latrobe,  as 
an  active  worker  in  the  cause,  met  many  of  them. 

His  connection  with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
extended  this  list  of  acquaintances.  We  find  in  his  diary  a 
reference  to  some  of  them.  He  seems  to  have  adopted 
Pope's  theory  of  life,  that  the  proper  study  of  mankind  is 
man,  for  in  his  notes  we  constantly  find  a  summing  up  or 
description  of  the  men  he  meets.  He  writes: 

"The  litigation  and  contests  of  the  Railroad  Company 
have  brought  me  in  contact  with  prominent  persons  that  I 
might  not  otherwise  have  known,  or  known  so  well.  One  of 
them  was  Charles  Fenton  Mercer,  the  President  of  the 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Canal  Company,  a  highly  educated  and 
polished  gentleman,  the  great  objects  of  whose  public  life 
were,  like  those  of  my  old  master  in  the  law,  Colonization  and 
Internal  Improvement.  Had  Mr.  Mercer  been  endowed 
with — what  shall  I  say — well,  with  more  Americanism  of 
character,  so  far  as  manner  went,  he  would  have  taken  a 
much  higher  stand  as  a  statesman  than  he  did.  In  the 

*The  Force  Bill  mentioned  by  Mr.  Latrobe  was  an  Act  of  Congress,  so-called, 
passed  to  enforce  the  collection  of  direct  taxes  levied  on  imports.  This  legislation 
created  a  considerable  opposition  on  the  part  of  a  number  of  States.  These  States 
claimed  the  right  to  pass  nullification  acts,  or  in  other  words,  that  each  State  had 
a  right  to  consider  whether  a  law  passed  by  Congress  should  be  accepted,  if,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  State,  it  exceeded  the  power  directly  surrendered  to  the  United 
States.  This  was  a  form  of  State's  Rights  or  the  Right  of  Secession. 

Hayne  and  Webster  had  their  great  contest  over  this  question  of  nullification, 
Hayne  supporting  it  and  Webster  supporting  the  right  of  the  Government  to  pass 
certain  legislation.  South  Carolina  had  proposed  to  resist  what  was  known  as  the 
Force  Bill,  but  a  compromise  was  effected  through  Henry  Clay  and  the  issue  was 
postponed.  This  claim  of  right  was  kept  alive  and  insisted  upon  at  different  times 
by  different  States,  until  ultimately  the  question  resulted  in  the  War  of  1861. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  369 

strife  of  politics,  in  the  '  shoulderings'  of  life,  a  certain  rude 
energy  goes  a  great  way.  I  do  not  mean  anything  savour 
ing  of  vulgarity,  I  rather  mean  the  exhibition  of  a  strong 
will,  in  contests  for  preeminence.  Mr.  Mercer  wanted  this. 
He  was  too  refined  and  elegant  a  gentleman  for  the  rough 
and  tumble  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  of  which  he 
was  for  years  a  member.  He  was  too  courtly;  and,  although 
looked  up  to  for  information,  indefatigable  in  the  perform 
ance  of  public  duties,  rougher  and  more  emphatic  men 
passed  him  in  the  race.  In  person,  Mr.  Mercer  was  of  the 
middle  size,  his  features  were  plain,  his  voice  high  pitched, 
he  was  a  graceful  speaker,  rather  than  a  powerful  one, 
never  identified  himself  with  other  than  leading  questions, 
and  upon  all  matters  of  internal  improvement,  was  a  recog 
nized  authority  in  Congress.  As  a  Colonizationist,  he  was 
one  of  the  earliest  and  most  influential  friends  of  the  move 
ment,  and  one  of  the  most  persistent  advocates.  We  were 
thrown  much  together  at  Annapolis,  nor  was  antagonism, 
as  we  advocated  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  Railroad  and 
Canal,  always  as  pleasant  as  it  might  have  been. 

"It  ended,  however,  with  our  visit  to  Annapolis,  and  did 
not  disturb  the  kindly  relations  which  our  sympathies  on 
two  great  subjects  made  natural. 

"Of  Mr.  Wirt  I  have  already  spoken;  so  I  have  of  Mr. 
Taney,  both  of  whom,  though  on  opposite  sides,  were  en 
gaged  in  the  railroad  and  canal  controversy  from  its  com 
mencement.  The  most  active  of  the  counsel  on  the  canal 
side,  however,  was  Mr.  Walter  Jones,  one  of  the  cleverest 
lawyers  in  the  United  States,  a  small  spare  man  of  insignifi 
cant  appearance,  with  plain  features,  except  his  eyes,  which 
for  piercing  intelligence  and  shrewdness  of  expression  I  have 
never  seen  surpassed.  His  mental  activity  spoke  in  them, 
his  voice  was  a  thin,  high  pitched  one,  and  he  was  without 


370  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

any  pretension  to  grace  of  manner.  Few  men  who  occupied 
prominent  places  in  the  profession  were  ever  listened  to 
with  more  interest  that  Mr.  Jones.  His  fluency  was  only 
equalled  by  the  choiceness  of  his  language.  He  was  so 
deliberate,  so  quiet,  that  perhaps  'fluency'  does  not  ac 
curately  describe  his  oratory.  He  was  one  of  the  closest 
reasoners.  He  never  spoke  at  random.  His  style  was  sim 
plicity  itself.  He  was  rarely  at  a  loss  for  the  best  word  in 
the  proper  place.  Men  talk  nowadays  of  the  great  lawyers 
of  a  past  generation,  and  refer  to  Webster,  Choate,  Pink- 
ney,  and  others,  without  including  in  the  category  one  who 
was  inferior  to  few  of  them,  Walter  Jones.  He  had  been 
a  friend  of  my  father,  and  I  learned  to  know  him  well,  when 
the  great  case  threw  us  together  at  Annapolis. 

"But  the  greatest  of  all  the  great  men,  with  whom  it 
has  been  my  fortune  to  be  associated  or  be  acquainted  with, 
was  certainly  Daniel  Webster,  who  came  into  the  railroad 
and  canal  case  when  it  was  before  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
Maryland,  on  an  appeal  from  Chancellor  Bland,  and  I  may 
tell  here,  as  well  as  anywhere  else,  what  I  know  of  him." 

Mr.  Latrobe's  opinion  of  Daniel  Webster  is  endorsed  by 
the  position  Webster  holds  in  the  Hall  of  Fame:  1  George 
Washington,  2  Abraham  Lincoln,  3  Thomas  Jefferson,  4 
Daniel  Webster. 

"When  the  case  here  referred  to  was  ready  to  be  heard 
before  the  Court  of  Appeals,  Mr.  Taney  was  Attorney  Gen 
eral  of  the  United  States,  and  unable  to  follow  the  case  into 
the  Appellate  Tribunal.  It  was  necessary  to  supply  his 
place.  When  it  was  before  the  Chancellor  I  had  taken 
part  in  the  argument  with  Mr.  Taney  and  Mr.  Reverdy 
Johnson.  The  argument  before  the  Court  of  Appeals,  how 
ever,  required  heavier  metal  than  I  could  furnish  in  those 
days;  and,  but  two  counsel  being  permitted  to  speak  on  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  371 

same  side,  I  was  necessarily  excluded  after  the  employment 
of  Mr.  Webster  in  Mr.  Taney's  place  as  senior  counsel.  Mr. 
Webster  was  staying  in  Baltimore  at  Mr.  Hugh  Birckhead's 
when  it  was  determined  to  retain  him,  and  I  was  sent  to 
him  for  that  purpose.  He  had  just  returned  from  dinner 
when  I  was  introduced  to  him  by  our  mutual  friend,  the 
master  of  the  house.  He  had  evidently  dined  well  and  was 
in  rare  good  humor,  when  I  took  my  seat  on  the  sofa  along 
side  of  him  and  heard  for  the  first  time  that  deep,  impressive 
and  measured  voice. 

"Neither  the  time  nor  the  place  permitted  me  to  do  more 
than  to  explain  my  errand.  He  suggested  that  the  time 
for  adequate  preparation  was  short,  and  made  some  difficulty 
about  going  into  so  heavy  a  case  on  such  short  notice,  for 
I  proposed  he  should  set  out  with  me  for  Annapolis  the 
next  day  or  the  day  after.  When  he  found,  however,  that 
several  days  must  elapse  before  the  case  would  be  reached, 
he  agreed  to  take  part  in  the  argument,  and  accordingly  on 
the  following  morning,  we  set  out  in  company  with  Mr. 
William  Gwynn,  one  of  the  company's  counsel,  for  the 
capital  of  the  State.  The  journey  was  performed  in  a 
hack  and  pair  through  the  melancholy  country  lying  between 
Baltimore  and  Annapolis,  and  occupied  the  greater  part  of 
the  day.  I  had  taken  it  for  granted  that  the  case  would 
form  the  staple  of  the  conversation,  but  it  was  scarcely 
mentioned.  Mr.  Webster  soon  found  that  Mr.  Gwynn 
was  a  humorist,  besides  being  a  lawyer,  and  knew  almost 
all  the  persons  that  he  did,  and  they  fell  into  a  talk  that  was 
kept  up  from  the  commencement  of  the  journey  to  the  end. 
This  I  think  was  in  the  winter  of  1831-2  and  during  my 
widower  life.  Gwynn  was  a  theatre-goer,  and  intimate 
with  all  the  celebrities  of  the  stage.  He  was  an  editor,  too, 
and  knew  all  about  the  politicians.  He  knew  the  words  of 


372  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

more  songs  than  any  man  I  ever  met,  and  could  or  thought 
he  could  sing  them  to  all  the  tunes  that  could  be  made  up 
to  fit  them.  One  of  the  best  tempered  men  in  the  world, 
aptest  at  all  drollery,  epigrammatist  of  the  first  water, 
and  the  kindliest  of  human  beings,  there  was  still  a  personal 
dignity,  that  prevented  any  of  the  liberties  that  such  a 
character  otherwise  might  seem  to  invite.  Shrewdness  was 
one  of  his  traits,  and  acuteness  as  a  lawyer  was  another. 
Mr.  Webster  took  a  fancy  to  him  on  the  instant  and  amused 
himself  in  drawing  Gwynn  out.  In  this  he  had  little  diffi 
culty,  and  the  hours  were  winged  to  the  listener,  as  the  two 
men  kept  up  one  unbroken  stream  of  talk  during  the  jour 
ney.  The  only  intermission  was  the  wretched  excuse  for 
a  meal  at  the  Halfway  House  on  the  Annapolis  Road, 
after  which  the  stream  flowed  on  until  the  carriage  stopped 
at  the  Old  City  Hotel  in  Annapolis.  Mr.  Gwynn  was  in 
those  days  very  fat,  Mr.  Webster  was  a  stout  man,  and  I 
was  as  thin  as  a  lath;  so  Mr.  Gwynn  and  I,  as  hosts,  after 
a  fashion,  occupied  one  seat  and  gave  the  other  to  Mr. 
Webster  as  the  visitor  for  the  occasion.  I  have  often  wished 
that  I  had  taken  a  note  of  all  the  good  things  said  on  this 
journey  through  the  piney  woods  of  Anne  Arundel  County. 

"Nowadays  steamboats  or  railroads  take  us  to  Annapolis 
in  two  hours.*  My  first  visit  there  was  with  General  Harper, 
and  we  slept  at  the  Halfway  House  on  the  road,  and  a 
melancholy  place  it  was,  too.  It  had  not  improved  when 
our  trio  passed  over  it. 

"When  we  reached  Annapolis  there  was  some  difficulty 
in  obtaining  quarters  at  the  hotel.  The  Legislature  was 
in  session  and  every  hole  and  corner  of  the  little  City  seemed 
filled  with  visitors;  so  Mr.  Webster  and  I  were  obliged  to 
occupy  the  same  room,  a  very  large  one  on  the  first  floor  of 

*In  1916  in  one-half  hour. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  373 

an  old  mansion  across  the  tavern  yard,  in  one  corner  of 
which  Mr.  Webster  had  a  bed,  while  I  was  in  the  bed  diagon 
ally  opposite.  There  was  a  mighty  fireplace  with  a  high 
mantle,  and  huge  logs,  kept  constantly  ablaze,  counteracted 
in  some  degree  the  draft  of  air  that  came  into  the  apart 
ment  through  the  ill-fitting  door  and  the  shaking  windows. 
There  was  no  carpet,  and  a  large  table,  a  few  chairs,  and  a 
washstand  completed  the  furniture.  After  two  or  three 
days  had  passed  we  were  accommodated  with  adjoining 
rooms  on  the  second  floor,  a  building  like  a  barrack,  and 
called,  if  I  remember  right,  '  The  Colony. ' 

"One  would  have  thought  that,  as  my  mission  was  to 
cram  Mr.  Webster  and  his  duty  was  to  be  crammed,  the 
case  to  be  argued  would  be  our  sole  subject  of  conversation. 
On  the  contrary  we  but  rarely  spoke  of  it,  after  I  had  stated 
in  a  general  way  what  had  taken  place  before  the  Chancellor, 
and  rehearsed  as  well  as  I  could,  from  my  notes,  the  argu 
ment  of  Messrs.  Wirt  and  Jones.  Sometimes  I  would 
begin  on  the  case  as  we  sat  before  our  big  fire,  and  Mr. 
Webster  would  apparently  be  listening,  so  far  at  least  as 
to  keep  his  great  dark  eyes  fixed  on  mine;  when  instead  of 
replying  to  me  he  would  start  some  topic  that  had  filled  his 
thoughts  while  I  was  speaking,  and  go  off  in  an  entirely 
different  direction  from  the  controversy  that  had  brought 
him  to  Annapolis. 

"Twilight  seemed  to  be  a  favorite  time  with  Mr.  Webster. 
After  dining  in  the  mess  room  of  the  Bench  and  Bar,  we 
would  go  to  our  quarters  to  find  the  two  tall  candles  lighted 
in  the  short  winter  days  and  the  fire  burning  merrily  to 
greet  us.  Mr.  Webster  would  now  take  off  his  boots  and, 
placing  his  chair  on  one  side  of  the  fireplace,  tilt  it  back. 
With  his  feet  in  their  stout  yarn  stockings  against  the  mantle, 
as  high  as  his  head,  he  looked  like  anything  but  the  great 


374  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

statesman  and  lawyer,  whose  eloquence  and  knowledge 
senators  and  courts  alike  acknowledged  and  deferred  to. 

"I  wish  I  could  recall  all  he  uttered  on  those  occasions. 
The  three  days  in  the  oldtime  room  would  fill  a  reasonable 
sized  volume.  Mr.  Webster  assumed  and  bore  '  les  frais  de 
la  conversation.'  The  two  topics  that  I  recall  with  most 
distinctness  were  Shakespeare  and  the  old  dramatists  and 
anecdotes  of  his  early  life.  Shakespeare  was  a  theme  of 
which  he  never  wearied.  .  I  had  some  tastes  in  this  direction, 
and  was  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  leading  plays,  and 
so  we  talked  Shakespeare  by  the  hour,  and  sometimes  past 
the  midnight  hour.  Even  when  we  had  separate  quarters, 
Mr.  Webster  would  sit  by  my  fire  and  go  over  the  same 
topics.  I  may  say  in  passing  that  on  his  return  to  Wash 
ington  and  my  return  to  Baltimore  he  sent  me  the  folio 
edition  of  1623  (Roxburgh  Reprint)  of  the  great  dramatist 
as  a  token  to  recall  the  hours  we  had  discussed  him. 

"No  more  delightful  companion  was  to  be  found  any 
where  than  Mr.  Webster,  when  he  chose  to  be  agreeable. 
But  this  was  not  always,  and,  well  as  I  learned  to  know 
him,  I  was  never  quite  certain  of  his  mood.  In  its  worst 
shape,  so  far  as  my  experience  went,  it  was  monosyllabic 
and  curt,  a  curtness  that  prohibited  familiarity  of  speech, 
and  suggested  the  earliest  possible  termination  of  the  inter 
view.  At  Annapolis  I  saw  none  of  this.  Afterwards,  at 
Washington,  I  saw  it  once  or  twice — perhaps  but  once, 
when  Mr.  Webster's  name  was  before  the  public  as  -a  prob 
able  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 

"Anecdotes  of  his  early  life  he  told  with  great  zest,  and 
with  a  New  England  nasal  twang,  when  necessary  to  give 
effect  to  a  story. 

"  'Those  were  days,'  he  once  said,  'when  we  lawyers  went 
about  from  court  to  court  in  winter  times  in  small  one-horse 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  375 

sleighs.  I  had  one,  and  was  hurrying  to  my  lodging  place 
one  night,  when  I  found  the  way  blocked  by  a  lumber  sled 
that  filled  the  only  track  that  had  been  worn  deep  into  the 
snow. 

"I  knew  the  place  well.  It  was  at  the  foot  of  a  steep 
hill,  and  the  wagoner  leaving  his  team  had  gone  forward  to 
a  tavern  at  the  top  of  the  hill  for  an  extra.  None  was  to 
be  had  there  for  such  occasion.  It  was  a  bright  moonlight, 
and  I  could  see  the  wagoner  rising  the  summit.  I  never 
was  averse  to  a  joke,  so  I  got  my  horse  and  sleigh  into  the 
wood  and  then  unhitching  the  horse,  put  him  in  front  of  the 
lumberman's  team,  and  soon  had  the  load  up  the  hill.  Here 
I  took  off  my  horse  and,  leading  him  into  the  woods  out  of 
sight,  watched  to  see  the  surprise  of  the  wagoner  when  found 
his  team  had  done  this  work  without  assistance.  Soon 
enough  he  came  back  to  where  he  found  it,  leading  an  extra 
horse.  He  stood  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then  got  angry 
and  began  to  beat  his  team,  exclaiming,  'You  everlasting 
critters, '  this  in  a  strong  nasal  tone,  '  so  you  pulled  up  the 
hill  when  my  back  was  turned,  and  I  paid  50  £  for  nothing, 
you  everlasting  critters,  you;  I'll  larrup  you  to  teach  you 
better,  d — n  you,  the  next  time;'  when  I  came  from  my 
hiding  place  to  save  the  larrupping  by  explaining  the  miracle. 

"It  was  the  inner  frolic  of  the  man  illustrated  by  this 
story,  rather  than  the  facts,  that  made  it  interesting.  His 
manner  of  telling  it  was  inimitable. 

"Another  of  his  circuit  rides  was  on  a  stage  coach  whose 
horses  ran  away,  when  Mr.  Webster  got  out  of  the  back 
window  and,  standing  on  the  rack,  watched  the  team  over 
the  top  of  the  vehicle.  Coming  to  a  turnpike  gate  the  mad 
beasts  broke  through  it.  This  checked  them,  when  the 
driver  who  had  kept  his  place  got  down  and,  seeing  Mr. 
Webster,  exclaimed,  'Waal,  who'd  a'thought  Dan  Webster, 
the  lawyer,  riding  footman  to  Tim  Strong,  the  driver,  waal!' 


376  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"On  one  occasion  he  gave  me  the  particulars  of  an  offer 
that  had  been  made  to  him  of  a  country  clerkship,  dramatiz 
ing  the  narrative  as  he  went  along.  Speaking  of  age  one 
day,  he  said:  'The  worst  standard  by  which  to  measure 
a  man's  years  is  the  Parish  Church's  register.  Some  men, 
Sir,  are  born  old,  others  are  young  all  their  lives,  and  I  am 
sure  that  I  belong  to  that  class.'" 

(Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  gave  voice  to  the  same  idea  when 
he  said  he  was  eighty  years  young.) 

"Again,  speaking  of  an  acquaintance  one  day,  he  said, 
'  Sir,  he  is  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  I  know,  one  of  the  most 
painstaking  and  laborious  of  men,  a  true  friend,  and  un 
surpassed  in  all  the  relations  of  husband,  son,  father  and 
brother,  but  d — n,  Sir,  he  never  produced  results. ' 

"  Crossing  the  tavern  yard  to  the  mess  room  one  evening, 
he  stopped,  turned  so  as  to  face  me,  when  the  full  moon  shone 
on  his  face,  casting  his  eyes  into  the  deep  shadow  of  his 
massive  brow,  and  placing  his  hands  on  my  shoulders,  said, 
'My  young  friend,  be  in  no  haste  to  embark  in  politics,  the 
time  will  come  when  all  good  men  and  true  must  rally 
around  the  constitution,  and  when  we  raise  its  banner  it 
shall  glitter  like  the  "oriflamme."  Removing  his  hands 
he  resumed  his  walk,  saying  not  one  word  more.  These 
were  then  the  nullification  days  of  1831-2.  I  had  noticed 
that  this  evening  he  had  been  more  than  usually  silent, 
as  we  sat  on  each  side  of  the  fire  after  dinner.  His  pent-up 
thought  found  expression  in  what  he  said  to  me.  This  story 
appears  in  his  life  by  Curtis — a  most  excellent  work,  not 
on  that  account,  of  course,  but  as  a  succinct  history  of  a 
most  interesting  time. " 

In  Mr.  Latrobe's  diary  is  this  reference  to  the  meeting 
at  Washington: 

"Friday,  December  20,  1833.     I  met  Mr.  Webster  who 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  377 

seemed  really  pleased  to  see  me,  on  the  score  of  pleasant 
acquaintance  at  Annapolis.  I  asked  him  when  he  was  going 
to  raise  the  banner  of  the  Constitution  that  was  to  glitter 
like  the  oriflamme  of  France,  alluding  to  what  he  had  said 
to  me  in  Annapolis  two  years  since.  '  All  in  good  time,  my 
friend,'  was  the  answer. 

"On  one  of  my  visits  to  Washington,  after  we  had  met  at 
Annapolis,  I  called  on  him,  and,  among  other  questions,  he 
asked  me  what  I  was  doing  particularly.  Replying  that  I 
had  been  busy  preparing  a  speech  that  I  had  been  appointed 
to  deliver  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  by  the  City 
authorities  of  Baltimore  of  the  centenary  of  Washington's 
birth,  he  said  that  there  had  been  some  talk  about  getting 
up  a  dinner  in  Washington  on  the  occasion,  at  which  it  was 
not  unlikely  he  would  be  called  upon  to  address  the  party  of 
guests,  'So,'  he  said,  'that  I  might  not  be  wholly  unpre 
pared,  I  have  made  a  few  'scratches  here,  that  might  perhaps 
come  into  play,  but  the  dinner  has  fallen  through,  and  if 
they  can  be  of  any  use  to  you,  you  are  welcome  to  them; 
and  he  handed  me  a  half  sheet  of  blue  letter  paper,  with  some 
some  six  or  eight  short  sentences  upon  it.  I  told  him  that 
my  speech  was  already  memorized,  but  that  the  paper  would 
be  a  valuable  autograph,  and  I  would  prize  it  accordingly. 

"  Now  it  so  happened  when  I  came  to  read  the  '  scratches ' 
carefully,  that  there  was  a  sentence  among  them,  which 
would  fit  admirably  into  my  oration.  It  was  this:  'Wash 
ington  stood  not  only  at  the  commencement  of  a  new  era, 
but  at  the  head  of  a  new  world. ' 

"Determined  to  do  justice  to  this  choice  bit  of  epigram 
matic  eloquence  in  the  delivery,  I  called  on  a  very  clever 
actor,  the  manager  of  the  Front  Street  theater,  which  was 
to  be  the  scene  of  my  oratory,  and  whom  I  accidentally 
met  there,  when  I  went  to  look  at  the  preparations,  and 


378  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

repeating  the  sentence,  took  his  judgment  as  to  the  most 
effective  way  of  pronouncing  it,  and  when  the  time  came 
followed  his  instructions,  and  brought  down  the  house. 

"There  were  neither  railroads  nor  telegraph  in  those 
days  between  Washington  and  Baltimore,  and  the  public 
relied  on  stage  coaches  and  the  turnpike  for  the  transmission 
of  intelligence. 

"The  first  stage  that  reached  Baltimore  after  the  22nd 
of  February  brought  me  a  letter  from  Mr.  Webster  while  I 
was  at  breakfast,  with  a  request  on  the  back  that  it  should 
be  delivered  promptly.  It  contained  these  words,  and  no 
more: 

"My  dear  Sir:  The  dinner  did  come  off  after  all,  so 
look  out. 

Affectionately, 

D.  Webster." 

"It  was  not  long  before  I  was  at  the  Patriot  newspaper 
office,  where  my  speech  was  being  set  up  for  the  afternoon 
paper,  and  struck  out  the  interlarded  sentence.  It  was  well 
I  did  so,  for  when  I  read  the  report  of  Mr.  Webster's  after 
dinner  speech,  the  sentence  above  mentioned  was  the  only 
one  of  the  '  scratches '  that  it  contained.  It  is  not  everyone 
that  is  as  considerate  as  Mr.  Webster  was  on  this  occasion.* 

"On  one  occasion  I  was  in  his  office  at  his  dwelling  at 
Washington,  writing  at  his  dictation,  in  connection  with  a 
case  in  which  we  were  interested,  and  raising  my  eyes  when 
there  was  an  unusual  pause  in  the  flow  of  words,  I  saw  that 
he  was  sound  asleep.  I  suppose  he  must  have  slept  at  least 
ten  minutes,  and  then,  awakening  at  the  noise  I  made  in 
moving  my  chair,  to  my  astonishment  he  went  on  where  he 

*It  seems  to  the  writer  that  it  would  have  been  more  considerate  of  Mr.  Webster, 
after  he  had  given  these  "scratches"  to  Mr.  Latrobe,  not  to  have  used  them 
himself. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  379 

left  off  in  his  dictation,  and  completed  the  paragraph  as 
cleverly  as  though  he  had  not  slept  as  I  have  described. 

"Mr.  Webster  was  one  of  Mr.  James  G.  Wilson's  counsel, 
in  the  case  of  Woodworth  and  Rosseau — the  great  planing 
machine  case.  His  colleagues  were  Reverdy  Johnson,  Wm. 
H.  Seward,  Henderson  of  Iowa,  Phelps  of  Vermont,  Hall  of 
Washington  and  myself.  It  was  necessary  there  should  be 
a  consultation  before  the  argument  in  the  Supreme  Court, 
but  the  difficulty  was  to  get  counsel  together  to  divide  the 
points  between  them,  if  to  do  no  more.  At  last  Wilson  in 
despair  invited  us  all  to  supper  at  9  o'clock  at  the  National 
Hotel  with  the  understanding  we  were  to  meet  at  eight  to 
talk  over  the  case.  At  about  half-past  eight  we  assembled, 
and  sometime  was  lost  in  mutual  greeting.  Then  Mr. 
Webster  who  was  the  senior  called  upon  Governor  Seward, 
and,  pointing  to  a  great  volume  of  mss.  upon  the  table, 
said  in  a  solemn,  sonorous  voice,  'Brother  Seward,  suppose 
you  commence  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  by  reading 
the  record. '  Now  the  reading  of  the  record  would  have  oc 
cupied  hours,  and  we  all  laughed  at  the  idea  of  beginning  it 
except  Mr.  Webster  and  Governor  Seward,  the  latter  gravely 
taking  up  the  mss.  and  reading,  'At  a  Circuit  Court  of 
the  United  States  begun  &c.,  &c.'  This  was  more  than 
enough  to  make  our  mirth  obstreperous,  when  Mr.  Webster 
said,  'It  is  moved  that  the  reading  of  the  record  be  dis 
pensed  with,  and  that  Mr.  Wilson  inform  his  counsel  when 
supper  will  be  ready. '  It  was  ready,  for  the  folding  doors 
were  thrown  open  and  the  feast  began. 

"My  seat  was  next  to  Mr.  Webster,  who  on  this  occasion 
was  in  excellent  spirits  and  until  after  midnight  entertained 
us  with  an  almost  uninterrupted  flow  of  narrative  and 
anecdotes,  now  jocose,  now  pathetic,  always  apropos  and 
entertaining.  As  may  be  readily  imagined,  nothing  was 


380  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

said  of  Wilson  v.  Rosseau.  But  our  Amphytrion,  the  plain 
tiff  in  error,  was  as  well  satisfied,  he  assured  us,  as  if  we  had 
discussed  nothing  but  the  merits  of  the  Woodworth  planing 
machine  during  the  evening;  and  as  we  won  the  case  for 
him,  he  had,  in  addition  to  the  victory,  the  recollection  of 
an  evening,  such  as,  I  warrant,  neither  his  past  nor  his  sub 
sequent  experience  gave  him  any  conception  of. 

"Observing  that  Mr.  Webster  drank  no  champagne,  and 
that  his  only  beverage  was  from  the  tumbler  of  water  that 
he  from  time  to  time  moistened  his  lips  with,  I  remarked 
upon  his  abstemiousness.  'Taste  it,  Sir,-  taste  it,  Sir,' 
this  in  a  whisper.  Raising  it  to  my  lips,  I  found  it  was  gin, 
and,  as  I  thought,  unadulterated.  It  is  proper  to  say  that 
more  than  a  wine  glass  of  it  did  not  pass  his  lips.  The 
attention  paid  him,  the  constant  applause  that  he  received, 
the  roars  of  laughter  he  provoked,  supplied  on  that  evening 
all  the  excitement  that  was  necessary.  I  have  been  to  many 
consultations  since  with  clever  men,  and  in  important  cases, 
but  the  consultation  in  Wilson  v.  Rosseau  stands  alone. 

"Though  not  in  its  place  chronologically,  I  may  as  well 
mention  here  as  later,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Webster, 
what  I  have  always  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  compli 
ments  paid  me  as  a  professional  man.  It  was  in  this  same 
planing  machine  case. 

"  My  first  appearance  was  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  New 
York  and  my  associates  were  Daniel  Webster,  Reverdy 
Johnson,  Judge  Phelps  of  Vermont,  Henderson  of  Iowa 
Wm.  H.  Seward,  and  Mr.  Hall. 

"I  was  to  reply  to  Mr.  Stevens  of  Albany  when  my  turn 
came  to  speak,  and  Mr.  Webster  was  to  follow  me  upon  the 
same  side,  and  the  same  points  were  allotted  to  Mr.  Webster 
and  myself.  Satisfied  that  I  would  occupy  the  remainder 
of  the  day  to  the  adjournment,  Mr.  Webster,  who  had 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  381 

complained  of  not  feeling  well,  had  told  me  that  so  soon  as 
I  was  under  way,  he  would  leave  the  Court  Room;  and 
accordingly  I  saw  him  in  the  seat  just  in  front  of  me  quietly 
inclose  himself  in  his  great  coat  which  was  on  the  back  of 
the  chair,  and  closing  his  portfolio,  place  his  hat  upon  it, 
ready  for  a  start.  Something  I  said,  however,  seemed  to 
attract  his  attention,  and  he  turned  to  look  at  me.  After 
some  time  he  put  his  hat  aside,  and  opened  his  portfolio 
and  made  a  note,  and  turned  to  listen,  and  so  he  continued  to 
listen  and  make  notes  until  his  great  coat  became  uncomfort 
able;  he  then  took  this  off,  replaced  it  on  the  back  of  the 
chair,  and  only  rose  when  I  completed  my  spech  and  the 
Court  adjourned. "  'Why,  Colonel, '  he  said,  using  a  famil 
iar  nickname  he  had  given  me  at  Annapolis,  'You  have 
called  yourself  the  carpenter  of  the  case,  but  you  have  done 
better  as  a  lawyer,  and  I  must  stir  myself  between  this  and 
tomorrow. '  Shaking  me  with  unwonted  cordiality  by  the 
hand,  he  said  some  other  kind  things  which  it  is  unnecessary 
to  repeat." 

The  following  are  the  "scratches"  written  by  Daniel 
Webster  and  given  to  Mr.  Latrobe: 

"A  century  from  the  birth  of  Washington  has  changed  the 
world  and  Washington  is  fit  to  be  regarded  as  the  first  and 
greatest  of  the  human  agents  that  have  wrought  that 
change." 

"The  country  of  Washington  has  been  the  theatre  on 
which  a  great  part  of  the  change  has  been  wrought;  and 
Washington  himself  is  fit  to  be  regarded  among  the  first  and 
greatest  of  the  human  agents  who  have  accomplished  it." 

"Washington  stands  at  the  commencement  of  a  new  era, 
as  well  as  at  the  head  of  a  new  world.  His  age  and  his 
country  are  equally  full  of  wonders,  and  of  both  he  is  him 
self  one  of  the  chief  wonders. " 


382  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

"The  age  of  Washington,  what  does  it  not  comprise, 
in  the  progress  of  science,  the  development  of  new  principles, 
and  the  progress  of  human  improvement?" 

"The  country  of  Washington,  what  does  it  not  exhibit, 
to  attract  the  admirers  of  new  enterprise,  of  new  views  of 
character,  new  and  happy  forms  of  civil  policy,  and  of  the 
universal  spread  of  free  institutions." 

"America;  Washington;  what  ideas  will  these  names  ex 
cite,  a  thousand  years  hence,  among  all  the  races  and  na 
tions  of  men,  that  shall  then  inhabit  our  globe. " 

In  closing  the  subject  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  association  with 
Mr.  Webster,  I  find  the  following  notes  and  correspondence 

"In  my  personal  recollections  of  Daniel  Webster,  pub 
lished  in  Harper's  Monthly  Magazine,  I  stated  the  cir 
cumstances  under  which  Mr.  Webster  once  said  to  me,  "My 
young  friend,  be  in  no  haste  to  embark  in  politics.  The 
time  will  come,  when  all  good  men  and  true  must  rally 
round  the  Constitution;  and  when  we  raise  its  banner,  it 
must  glitter  like  an  orinamme." 

"Nearly  twenty  years  afterwards,  Mr.  Webster  delivered 
the  oration  at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Capitol 
extension  in  Washington.  In  reply  to  a  letter  that  I  wrote 
to  him  on  the  occasion  recalling  the  above  piece  of  advice, 
I  received  the  following: 

"Washington,  July  10,  1851. 
"My  dear  Sir: 

"I  am  exceedingly  obliged  to  you  for  your  friendly  letter 
of  the  7th  inst.  Our  sojourn  together  at  Annapolis,  twenty 
years  ago,  is  always  recollected  by  me  with  pleasure.  We 
attended  to  our  professional  duties,  I  hope,  with  diligence; 
but  I  remember  that  we  had  a  good  deal  of  general  con 
versation,  which  was  quite  agreeable  to  me.  We  talked  of 
Shakespeare  and  the  player's  edition  of  his  plays;  and,  if 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  383 

I  mistake  not,  settled  the  question  whether  shoes  were 
made  right  and  left  in  Shakespeare's  time,  by  referring  to  the 
passage  in  King  John  in  which  the  tailor  tells  his  news. 

Standing  on  slipper  (which  his  nimble  haste 
Had  falsely  thrust  upon  contrary  feet.) 

and  I  think  we  found  other  passages  to  the  like  effect.  I 
remember  also,  that  you  kindly  arranged  to  send  me  some 
Scotch  Broom,  then  growing  near  Annapolis,  and  which  is 
now  nourishing  at  Marshfield.  As  to  the  particular  occur 
rence  which  you  mention,  I  recollect  this,  that  sometime 
afterward,  when  we  happed  to  meet,  you  recalled  it  to  my 
attention. 

My  dear  Sir,  I  am  not  worthy  to  be  trusted  with  bearing 
up  our  great  constitutional  ORLFLAMME;  but  I  will  do  my 
best  to  keep  it  aloft,  if  you,  and  other  men  like  you,  will 
stand  thick  around. 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  with  unabated  friendship  and  regard 

Yours  truly, 

(signed)  Daniel  Webster. 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe." 

"After  the  death  of  Mr.  Webster,  I  sent  to  his  executors, 
at  their  request,  such  memoranda  as  I  happened  to  have  in 
connection  with  him,  and  some  time  afterward  received 
the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Curtis,  his  biographer. 

"  New  York,  January  31, 1870. 
'My  dear  Sir: 

I  take  it  for  granted  you  will  desire  to  repossess  this 
valuable  autograph.  The  anecdote  to  which  it  refers  is 
told  on  your  authority,  in  my  second  volume,  and  the  letter 
quoted.  The  second  volume  will  be  out  in  a  few  days. 

If  you  chance  to  meet  Mr.  Reverdy  Johnson,  please  say 


384  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

to  him  that  I  hear  he  finds  fault  with  the  portrait  in  vol.  1st. 
So  do  a  good  many  other  people.  The  truth  is  that  the 
picture  from  which  the  engraving  was  made  was  the  best 
and  most  pleasing  one  extant  of  that  time  of  life;  and  as  it 
was  a  sort  of  historical  picture,  painted  in  reference  to  the 
Treaty  (duplicate  of  that  sent  to  Lord  Ashburton)  I  ordered 
it  to  be  done.  But  for  the  second  volume  I  have  obtained 
what  I  think  the  grandest  head  of  Webster  ever  produced 
by  the  art  of  engraving.  It  is  a  very  difficult  thing  to  satisfy 
the  recollections  of  those  who  knew  him,  or  the  conceptions 
of  those  who  did  not.  But  as  far  as  the  engraver's  art  can 
go,  I  think  this  last  effort  a  success. 

I  would  not  send  you  this  autograph,  where  I  not  afraid 
that  you  would  assert  your  title  by  an  action.  It  is  worth 
its  weight  in  gold,  fifty  times  over.  Pray  give  me  a  solemn 

acquittance. 

Yours  very  truly, 

George  T.  Curtis. 

Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq." 

"Among  personal  and  professional  associates,  perhaps 
none  have  been  more  closely  connected  with  me  than  the 
Winans  family;  and  this  is  as  proper  a  place  as  any  other  to 
introduce  them. 

"Ross  Winans,  the  father,  came  to  Baltimore,  attracted 
by  the  fame  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company's 
then  great  undertaking,  in  order  to  introduce  upon  its  cars 
his  invention  of  a  'friction  wheel,'  which  at  once  excited,  in 
an  eminent  degree,  public  curiosity.  I  have  referred  to  it 
in  my  lecture  of  'Personal  Reminiscences'  of  this  work.  I 
became  acquainted  with  him,  of  course,  and  saw  a  great 
deal  of  him.  I  became  his  counsel  and  attended  to  his  law 
business,  as  well  as  his  several  inventions,  for  the  '  Friction 
Wheel'  was  in  the  end  the  least  of  them,  and  was  lost  in 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  385 

the  celebrity  attaching  to  the  eight-wheel  car,  of  which 
he  was  unquestionably  the  author.  This  I  argued  for  him 
in  the  Courts  of  Baltimore,  in  Cooperstown  and  the  Courts 
of  New  York.  I  had  so  much  to  do  with  him  and  his  in 
ventions,  was  so  well  understood  to  be  his  intimate  friend 
in  business  matters,  that  our  names  were  associated  in  the 
public  mind,  and  whenever  his  name  was  mentioned,  it 
was  a  matter  of  course  that  I  should  be  thought  of.  So  much 
was  this  the  case  that  when  he  was  arrested  in  the  commence 
ment  of  the  rebellion,  it  was  proposed  to  arrest  me  too,  it 
being  taken  for  granted  that  if  he  was  guilty  of  treason,  I 
was  equally  so,  and  this,  though  I  was  in  fact,  a  Union  Man. 
I  have  this  from  Reverdy  Johnson,  who  told  me  he  dissuaded 
Mr.  Seward  from  ordering  my  arrest  when  he  ordered 
Winans'.  The  secret  of  our  association,  for  it  was  associ 
ation  after  all,  rather  than  intimacy,  was  in  my  fondness  for 
everything  relating  to  mechanics,  and  the  fertility  of  his  me 
chanical  knowledge.  Besides  this,  it  is  proper  to  say  that 
Mr.  Winans  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  mind,  a  bold  and 
original  thinker,  with  a  good  deal  of  the  imaginative  faculty. 
When  he  moved  his  family  to  Baltimore,  it  consisted  of 
his  father,  wife,  and  several  children,  of  whom  Thomas  and 
William  were  the  eldest,  both  of  whom  have  since  become 
distinguished  in  connection  with  a  great  Russian  contract} 
producing  great  wealth,  and  as  inventors  of  what  is  known 
as  the  'cigar'  or  'spindle'  steamer." 

Mr.  Latrobe  has  given  above  a  short  recital  of  his  con 
nection  with  Ross  Winans.  Mr.  Ross  Winans  was  a  man 
whose  career  in  Baltimore  is  closely  connected  with  its  prog 
ress;  and  his  family,  consisting  of  his  sons  and  grandsons 
have  always  been  represented  by  Mr.  Latrobe,  or  some  mem 
ber  of  his  family,  in  this  country.  In  another  chapter,  Mr. 
Latrobe's  connection  with  the  Winans  in  St.  Petersburg  is 


386  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

given  in  some  detail.  No  account  of  the  times  of  Mr. 
Latrobe  will  be  complete  without  giving  a  short  history  of 
the  Winans  and  their  enterprises. 

Mr.  Ross  Winans  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  October 
1796,  at  Mt.  Vernon  Township,  Sussex  County.  He  came  to 
Baltimore  about  1826  or  1827.  As  stated  by  Mr.  Latrobe, 
he  was  brought  here  by  his  interest  in  the  railroad,  which 
was  then  being  constructed.  He  was  an  inventive  genius. 
The  first  invention  mentioned  was  a  plough.  He  was  in 
terested  in  steamboats,  and  advocated  and  patented  "  spindle 
shaped  steamers,"  known  as  the  cigar  steamer.  He  in 
vented  the  "friction  wheel,"  also  the  outside  bearing  now 
universally  used  by  railroads.  This  was  unquestionably 
his  suggestion.  He  invented  the  eight  wheel  coach.  He 
invented  a  steam  gun  and  many  other  devices. 

According  to  a  letter  of  Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  which  is 
embodied  in  this  biography,  he  built  the  first  steam  engine 
used  upon  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  in  1830.  In  1834  we 
find  that  the  firm  of  Gillingham  &  Winans  was  building 
steam  engines  at  their  works,  which  were  afterwards  known 
as  the  "Mt.  Clare  Works,"  for  the  Railroad.  These  works 
were  at  the  time  among  the  largest  machine  shops  in  this 
country. 

In  looking  over  Mr.  Latrobe's  diary,  I  find  the  following 
entries: 

"January  22,  1834.    Winans  came  to  see  me. 

"January  25,  1834.  Saw  Ross  Winans  who  gave  me  a 
proposition  of  compromise  with  B.  &  0.  R.  R. 

"January  29,  1834.  Considering  claims  of  Ross  Winans 
for  compensation  for  use  of  outside  bearing  of  the  railroad 
carriage  of  which  he  is  the  patentee. 

"January  31,  1834.  At  the  railroad  office.  Gave  Mr. 
Thomas,  the  President,  my  report  upon  the  Winans  case. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  387 

"February  11, 1834.  Saw  Ross  Winans  and  prepared  as 
signment  of  the  patent  to  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co. 

"March  17,  1834.  Went  with  Ross  Winans  to  his  house 
in  the  evening.  He  is  experimenting  on  a  form  of  the  shape 
of  steamboats. 

"November  1,  1835.  Drank  tea  and  sat  an  hour  with 
Winans.  Afterwards  talked  about  his  patent  right.  Elgar 
sailed  for  Europe." 

In  his  letter  book,  I  find  a  letter  of  March  25,  1835. 

"Wrote  to  Ross  Winans  that  I  wanted  to  see  him  in 
relation  to  Sullivan  letter  to  the  B.  &  O.  R.  R. 

"March  13,  1837.  Saw  Ross  Winans  about  the  suits 
in  Boston. 

"May  3,  1838.  Had  a  meeting  with  McLane,  Gillingham 
&  Winans.  They  agree  that  the  engine  built  for  the  B.  &  O. 
should  not  be  paid  for  until  approved  by  the  President  and 
Board." 

In  a  pamphlet  written  by  Mr.  Latrobe  in  1868,  he  says, 
speaking  of  the  ground  through  which  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  runs  towards  the  Relay  House : 

"  Now  bounded  by  the  rich  meadows  and  thriving  orchards 
into  which  Mr.  Ross  Winans'  wealth  and  enterprise  has 
converted  the  barren  old  fields  that  once  belonged,  &c." 

In  the  construction  of  engines  and  cars  for  the  railroad, 
one  great  consideration  was  to  reduce  the  friction  of  the 
axles  in  the  boxes.  About  this  time  Mr.  Ross  Winans  made 
his  appearance  in  Baltimore,  and  instantly  became  a  celeb 
rity  with  his  friction  wheel,  unquestionably  an  ingenious 
and  beautiful  contrivance.  Mr.  Winans  suspended  his 
wheel  by  a  projecting  flange  on  the  interior  periphery,  on 
which  the  main  axle  revolved,  dispensing  thus  with  lateral 
guards,  and  meeting  in  many  other  ways  the  exigencies  of 
the  occasion,  so  long  as  slow  speed  alone  was  required.  The 


388  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

town  went  wild  with  "Winans'  Friction  Wheel."  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  who  was  then  the  great  man  on  all 
great  occasions  in  Baltimore,  seated  on  a  little  car  in  one  of 
the  upper  rooms  of  the  Exchange,  was  drawn  by  a  ridicu 
lously  small  weight  attached  to  a  string  passing  over  a  pulley 
and  dropping  into  the  hall  below.  Around  him  were  all  the 
prominent  men  of  Baltimore,  and  all  were  as  much  pleased 
as  children  with  a  new  toy.  In  fact,  there  was  an  impression 
about  railroad  things  in  those  days  that  was  wonderful  to 
recollect.  Mr.  Winans  went  to  Europe  with  his  invention, 
and  was  there  plundered  of  the  most  valuable  portion  of  it, 
the  "outside  bearing,"  through  the  bad  faith  of  those  whom 
he  permitted  to  try  it  in  public  as  an  experiment.  The  out 
side  bearing,  of  which  he  is  unquestionably  the  inventor 
in  its  application  to  railroad  carriages,  is  now  the  only  bear 
ing  used  throughout  the  world. 

Mr.  Winans  planned  the  first  eight  wheel  car  ever  built 
for  passenger  purposes,  and  called  it  by  the  appropriate 
name  of  "  Columbus. "  To  him  is  due  the  first  organization 
of  the  sort  made  in  the  world.  People  pretended,  when  the 
railroad  organization  became  too  powerful  to  be  resisted — 
so  powerful  as  to  manufacture,  through  the  vastness  of  the 
interests  to  be  affected,  the  very  credulity  they  wanted — 
that  he  had  been  anticipated,  from  the  fact  that  long  timbers 
like  platforms  had  been  carried  on  two  cars  temporarily 
united  by  their  load;  as  though  two  men  carrying  a  pole 
extending  from  the  shoulder  of  one  to  the  shoulder  of  the 
other  could  be  called  a  "quadruped." 

But  due  to  the  power  of  the  railroad,  as  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Latrobe,  the  inventor  of  railroad  devices  has  a  hard  time, 
and  it  is  very  seldom  that  the  original  patentee  of  appliances 
used  upon  railroads  ever  receives  compensation  for  his  in 
vention.  The  only  way  he  ever  realizes  any  benefit  is  to 
organize  a  combination  strong  enough  to  fight  the  railroad. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  389 

Mr.  Ross  Winans  was  interested,  as  already  stated,  in 
the  Mt.  Clare  Works,  where  a  great  number  of  what  is 
known  as  "Camelback  Engines"  were  built  and  used  by 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  other  railroads.  Ultimately 
these  works  were  taken  over  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio. 

Mr.  Winans  also  invented  a  steam  gun  about  the  time 
of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  An  account  of  this  appeared 
in  the  Baltimore  News  on  April  12,  1911,  and  April  18,  1911. 
As  shown  by  Mr.  Latrobe's  diary,  the  question  of  the  shape 
of  steamboats  interested  Mr.  Ross  Winans  as  far  back  as 
1834.  He  advocated  what  is  known  as  the  "  cigar  steamer, " 
a  long  and  narrow  steamer,  the  hull  of  which  is  a  good  deal 
more  submerged  than  those  in  use  at  present;  the  shape, 
however,  of  the  steamer  suggested  by  him  is  now  the  one 
in  common  use.  When  a  plan  of  one  of  these  steamers  is 
furnished  from  which  to  select  a  state  room,  one  immediately 
perceives  that  the  shape  of  the  hull  is  exactly  like  that  of  a 
cigar.  The  Winans  family  worked  over  this  shape  of  steam 
boat  and  spent  an  immense  sum  of  money  in  so  doing. 
They  acquired  large  tracts  of  land  on  Whetstone  Point, 
in  Baltimore  City,  with  a  view  to  establishing  machine  shops 
for  building  ships.  For  many  years  the  hull  of  one  of  these 
steamboats  which  had  made  a  trip  down  the  bay  in  1850 
or  '51,  was  to  be  seen  near  the  Light  Street  Bridge,  but  it 
was  ultimately  broken  up. 

In  Chapter  XVIII,  a  description  is  given  of  Mr.  Latrobe's 
experiences  in  Russia,  acting  for  the  Messrs.  Winans  in  what 
was  known  as  the  contract  for  the  remount  of  the  St.  Peters 
burg  and  Moscow  Railroad.  In  this  matter,  William  Louis 
Winans,  who  was  a  son  of  Ross  Winans,  took  the  most 
active  part,  as  is  shown  by  Mr.  Latrobe's  account  of  his 
experiences  there. 

William  Louis  Winans,  during  his  stay  in  Russia,  built 
two  vessels  of  the  cigar  boat  character  (which  were  in  fact, 


390  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

submarines)  for  the  Russian  Government,  for  use  in  the  Cri 
mean  war.  Mr.  Winans  also  built  several  monitors  for 
the  Russian  Government — boats  that  were  sunk  very  low 
in  the  water  with  turtle  armored  backs,  so  that  the  round 
shot  used  in  those  days  would  bound  off  the  deck  of  the 
boat.  He  also  armed  them  with  guns  on  disappearing  car 
riages.  They  were  built  prior  to  Ericson's  monitors. 

He  received  from  the  Emperor  the  Saint  Anne  Cross, 
the  Stanislaus  Cross,  I  think  the  Vladimir  Cross,  and,  after 
he  left  Russia,  the  Emperor  Alexander  II  gave  him  the 
star  of  the  Stanislaus  Order,  which  confers  nobility  in  Russia. 

Mr.  Latrobe  speaks  in  Chapter  XVIII,  page  7,  of  his  being 
presented  to  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine.  Mr.  William 
L.  Winans  was  befriended  by  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine 
in  matters  pertaining  to  the  railroad,  and  the  Grand  Duke 
presented  him  with  an  oil  painting  of  himself. 

Mr.  William  L.  Winans,  who  then  resided  in  London, 
entered  into  a  contract  with  his  brothers,  under  the  terms 
of  which  he  was  to  perfect  the  steamboat,  and  was  to  be 
entitled  in  case  of  success  to  recoup  his  expenditures.  The 
profits  were  then  to  be  divided  between  William  L.  Winans, 
Thomas  D.  Winans,  Walter  Scott  Winans  and  DeWitt 
Clinton  Winans,  in  the  proportion  of  four  tenths  to  William, 
four  tenths  to  Thomas  and  one  tenth  to  each  of  the  others. 
Mr.  Ross  Winans,  the  father,  was  dead  at  the  time  this  agree 
ment  was  entered  into. 

In  the  settlement  of  the  estate  of  DeWitt  Clinton  Winans, 
who  held  a  one-tenth  interest  as  above  specified,  subject  to  this 
agreement,  it  became  necessary  to  ascertain  what  amount 
of  money  had  been  expended  by  Mr.  William  L.  Winans  in 
the  effort  to  perfect  this  patent.  Detailed  statements  show 
that  something  over  four  millions  of  dollars  had  been  ex 
pended  in  the  effort  to  perfect  this  improvement,  and  for 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  391 

many  years  two  large  steamers  lay  in  the  river  Thames, 
in  London,  belonging  to  Mr.  Winans,  upon  which  these  sums 
had  been  spent.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  William  L.  Winans 
these  vessels  were  broken  up. 

Mr.  Ross  Winans  invested  a  considerable  sum  of  money 
in  building  houses  on  Parkin  Street,  in  the  City  of  Balti 
more,  between  McHenry  and  Ramsay  Streets.  His  idea 
was  to  build  houses  which  could  be  rented  in  floors  to  people 
of  very  moderate  means.  He  expended  something  over 
$400,000.  in  building  these  houses.  They  were  a  failure. 
Small  houses  could  be  rented  at  very  low  rates  and  people 
preferred  to  have  their  own  roof  tree  rather  than  to  live  in 
buildings  occupied  by  a  number  of  families.  Ultimately 
the  property  became  in  such  condition  that  it  was  necessary 
to  tear  these  houses  down,  as  it  was  found  that  the  revenue 
was  not  sufficient  to  justify  their  remaining.  A  large  por 
tion  of  this  property  is  now  held  under  lease  by  the  Bartlett 
Hayward  Company. 

In  1861  Mr.  Ross  Winans  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Legislature.  At  this  time  there  was  a  strong  feeling  of 
sympathy  for  the  South  in  Baltimore.  Stanton  gave  orders 
for  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Winans,  Mr.  Wallis,  and  a  great  number 
of  the  leading  citizens  of  Baltimore;  and  they  were  confined 
in  Fort  Carroll.  Here  Mr.  Winans  used  to  deliver  a  sermon 
on  each  Sunday.  Perhaps  he  was  not  very  orthodox. 
He  had  written  a  book  known  as  "One  Religion  and  Many 
Creeds" — quite  a  remarkable  work. 

Mr.  Ross  Winans  died  in  1877  in  Baltimore.  He  had  been 
iterested,  together  with  his  sons,  in  the  building  of  the  rail 
road  in  Russia.  The  Winans  connection  with  this  enter- 
)rise  was  brought  about  through  George  W.  Whistler,  an 

igineer. 

Mr.  Whistler  was  the  son  of  Major  John  Whistler,  who 


392  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

was  wounded  in  a  campaign  against  the  Indians  under 
Major  St.  Clair  in  1791.  He  settled  in  Hagerstown,  Mary 
land.  Subsequently  he  moved  to  Jefferson  Barracks,  a 
short  distance  below  St.  Louis.  Among  a  large  number  of 
children  was  George  Washington  Whistler,  who  was  born  at 
Fort  Wayne,  Ind.  on  the  19th  day  of  May,  1800.  He  was 
a  cadet  at  West  Point  on  July  31,  1814.  He  was  remark 
able  for  his  skill  with  his  pencil,  and  this  skill  descended  to 
one  of  his  children,  James  McNeill  Whistler,  the  great  artist. 
Mr.  Whistler  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1819.  It  has  been 
the  custom  for  the  Government  to  assist  in  works  of  public 
improvement  by  permitting  the  services  of  its  officers  and 
engineers  to  be  engaged.  Dr.  Howard,  Lieut.  Colonel  Long, 
Captain  William  Gibbs  McNeill,  Fassenden,  Gwynne  and 
Trimble  were  employed  by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  in  this 
capacity.  A  special  request  was  made  by  the  directors  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  in  October  1828  for  the  services  of 
Lieut.  Whistler;  and  it  was  determined  to  send  a  deputation 
to  England,  composed  of  Jonathan  Knight,  William  Gibbs 
McNeill,  George  W.  Whistler  and  Ross  Winans.  The  party 
left  in  November  and  returned  in  the  following  May. 
McNeill  and  Whistler  were  transferred  in  June  1829  to  the 
Baltimore  &  Susquehanna  R.  R.  and  made  surveys  of  that 
road.  Mr.  Whistler  resigned  from  the  Army  on  December 
3,  1833.  He  took  control  of  the  locomotive  and  machine 
works  in  1834-37,  and  he  constructed  the  railroad  from 
Worcester  and  Springfield  to  Albany.  While  Whistler, 
McNeill  and  Swift  were  engineers  building  the  railroad  con 
necting  Boston  with  the  Great  West,  the  Czar  sent  Chevalier 
von  Gerstner  in  1839  to  the  United  States  to  obtain  informa 
tion  concerning  railroads  in  this  country;  as  he  contem 
plated  building  a  line,  at  national  expense,  from  St.  Peters 
burg  to  Moscow.  Von  Gerstner  was  followed  by  a  Committee 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  393 

of  Engineers,  Mentkoff  and  Kraft,  who,  like  him,  reported 
strongly  in  favor  of  the  American  system  in  preference  to 
the  English.  They  were  so  impressed  by  the  ability  of 
Whistler  that  he  was  invited  by  the  Emperor  to  go  to 
Russia  to  act  as  consulting  engineer.  He  sailed  for  St. 
Petersburg  in  1842.  What  is  known  as  the  battle  of  gauges 
occurred,  resulting  in  the  adoption  of  the  gauge  of  five  feet, 
advocated  by  Whistler.  Rolling  stock  and  fixed  machin 
ery  were  furnished  by  Winans,  Harrison  and  Eastwick.  The 
Winans  contract  was  about  five  millions  of  dollars.  Rolling 
stock  construction  was  commenced  in  1844.  Works  were 
established,  Alexandroflsky  became  the  name  of  the  shops 
which  were  located  near  St.  Petersburg.  The  Emperor 
visited  these  shops  in  1847.  Whistler  was  decorated  with 
the  order  of  St.  Anne.  He  had  an  attack  of  Asiatic  Cholera 
in  November,  1848  and  died  from  its  effects  the  9th  of  April 
1849.  The  road  was  opened  on  November  1,  1851. 

The  Government  was  so  well  satisfied  with  the  work  that 
it  entered  into  a  contract  with  Joseph  Harrison,  Thomas  D. 
Winans  and  William  L.  Winans,  to  supply  the  road  with 
rolling  stock  and  keep  it  in  condition.  This  new  contract 
bears  date  August  25,  1850,  and  was  to  run  until  July  1856. 
The  term  used  in  describing  the  work  to  be  done  is  the 
"remount  of  the  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  Railroad." 
Mr.  Ross  Winans  was  not  a  party  to  this  contract,  but  his 
sons  were.  The  eldest  son  of  George  Whistler,  George  W. 
Whistler,  also  an  engineer,  continued  in  the  Russian  serv 
ice.  He  had  married  Julia,  the  only  daughter  of  Ross 
Winans.  The  contract  was  extended  and  in  1857  Mr. 
Latrobe  visited  Russia,  as  detailed  in  a  subsequent  chap 
ter,  in  the  interests  of  the  Winans  and  others  in  reference 
to  the  performance  of  the  contract. 

Of  the  two  sons  who  were  parties  to  this  contract,  Thomas 


394  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

D.  Winans  is  spoken  of  as  an  engineer  in  the  Americana. 
He  was  born  on  December  6,  1820,  in  New  Jersey,  and  died 
in  Rhode  Island  in  June  1878.  We  find  him  in  1861  es 
tablishing  soup  houses  for  the  poor  in  the  City  of  Baltimore. 
He  had  a  country  place  near  Baltimore,  and  he  had  a 
large  dwelling  house  on  Fremont  Avenue  and  Baltimore 
Street,  which  was  surrounded  by  a  high  brick  wall.  There 
seem  to  be  two  reasons  for  this  high  wall.  The  first  is  that 
Mr.  Winans,  who  had  great  artistic  taste,  ornamented  the 
ground  with  handsome  statuary.  The  nude  figures  of 
fended  the  residents  to  such  an  extent  that,  in  order  to  do 
away  with  the  objection,  Mr.  Winans  built  this  wall.  An 
other  reason  given  for  the  erection  of  the  wall  was  that 
there  were  two  lions  which  ornamented  the  entrance  to  Mr. 
Winans'  residence,  and  that  the  patriotic  citizens  of  Balti 
more  were  so  irritated  by  these  emblems  of  Britain,  that 
it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  protect  them,  to  build  the  wall. 
In  view  of  the  fact  that  not  many  years  ago  the  tails  of  the 
lions  at  the  Calvert  Street  Bridge  were  broken  off  by  some 
citizen  who  resented  such  an  exhibition,  there  would  appear 
to  be  some  foundation  for  this  second  cause.  These  lions 
were  re-tailed,  and  on  examination  will  be  found  to  be  stone 
lions  with  metal  tails. 

Mr.  William  L.  Winans,  the  other  son  who  was  interested 
in  the  Russian  contract,  never  returned  to  this  country. 
He  died  in  England,  possessed  of  a  large  fortune — some 
twenty  odd  millions  of  dollars.  A  suit  was  instituted  which 
ultimately  went  to  the  House  of  Lords,  Mr.  Winans'  estate 
claiming  he  had  never  given  up  his  citizenship  in  this  coun 
try.  The  decision  of  the  House  of  Lords  was  in  favor  of 
the  Crown. 

William  Louis  Winans  also  designed  and  built  the  Nich- 
olefsky  stone  bridge  across  the  River  Neva  at  St.  Peters- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  395 

burg,  the  first  permanent  bridge  erected  there.  All  former 
bridges  had  to  be  pontoon  bridges  and  removed  when  the 
ice  came  down  in  the  winter.  This  bridge  was  built  with 
what  was  called  the  cigar  shaped  buttresses,  pointed  up 
stream,  so  that  the  ice  would  break  against  them  and  thus 
save  the  bridge  from  being  carried  away.  There  are  two 
other  stone  bridges  over  the  Neva,  but  this  bridge  is  by 
far  the  most  artistic,  as  well  as  beautifully  proportioned. 
It  is  spoken  of  as  a  monument  to  William  L.  Winans. 

Mr.  Walter  Winans,  one  of  the  sons  of  William  L.  Winans, 
is  the  well  known  sportsman  and  sculptor,  and  recog 
nized  as  the  best  pistol  shot  in  the  world.  He  recently  exe 
cuted  a  beautiful  statue  of  Joan  of  Arc,  copies  of  which  are 
being  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  French  Red  Cross  Fund. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  men  who  studied  law  in  Mr. 
Latrobe's  office,  as  described  by  him: — 

"T.  Yates  Walsh,  who  afterwards  became  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Baltimore  Bar,  was  a  man  of  very  decided 
talents,  and  a  perfect  walking  dictionary  of  political  events 
He  finished  his  course  of  studies  with  me,  after  General 
Harper's  death,  and  was  so,  accidentally,  made  my  first 
student.  He  was  a  constant  reader,  but  read  miscella 
neously;  and  when  urged  to  adopt  a  plan  of  professional 
study,  would  laugh  and  say  that  in  the  Courts  where  he  was 
a  constant  attendant,  he  could  "pick  up"  what  he  wanted, 
and,  strange  to  say,  he  picked  up  enough  to  make  himself  a 
far  better  lawyer  than  many  a  hard  worker  among  his  col 
leagues.  There  were  few  in  the  profession  who  were  readier 
or  better  informed  than  he  was.  The  only  wonder  was 
where  he  contrived  to  pick  up  what  he  knew. 

"The  second  was  Benjamin  C.  Presstman,  afterwards  a 
Judge,  an  intelligent  man  of  sterling  principles,  highly  re- 


396  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

spected,  still  living,  but  not  very  active  in  the  profession.  I 
recollect  on  one  occasion,  when  he  was  in  the  Court,  opposed 
to  Mr.  Wallis,  he  appeared  with  a  beautiful  rosebud  on  the 
lapel  of  his  coat.  He  used  tobacco  and  was  very  careless, 
and  his  coat  was  covered  with  tobacco  stains.  He  said  to 
Mr.  Wallis,  pointing  to  the  rosebud,  'Wallis,  you  cannot 
guess  where  that  came  from.'  Mr.  Wallis  said,  'No,  not 
unless  it  grew  there.' 

"Third,  Charles  Howard,  a  remarkable  man,  a  cigar 
maker,  of  great  ambition,  studied  the  classics  while  he  rolled 
cigars,  moved  to  the  West,  but  made  no  mark  there — long 
since  dead.  Radcliffe,  still  alive,  went  to  Washington,  came 
back  to  Baltimore,  but  has  made  no  figure. 

"Henry  Webster,  a  business  man,  but  cut  out  for  the  law, 
an  honest  upright  gentleman — dead. 

"Philip  Keyser,  full  of  energy  and  enterprise,  a  gallant 
gentleman,  went  to  California,  where  he  is  now  a  Judge, 
and  has  named  a  town  after  me. 

"W.  D.  Fenton  had  the  making  of  a  sound  counsellor, 
but,  weak  in  health,  went  to  Parkersburg  and  died  there. 
Charles  J.  M.  Gwynn,  full  of  talent,  laborious  and  ener 
getic,  is  now  Attorney  General  of  the  State. 

"R.  Van  Winkle,  clever,  active,  above  mediocrity,  I 
have  lost  sight  of  him. 

"Wm.  Urquhart,  a  young  gentleman  who  read  law,  pour 
passer  le  temps. 

"Archibald  Sterling,  altogether  the  most  satisfactory  of 
my  students,  taking  him  all  in  all,  now  United  States  At 
torney  for  Maryland. 

"John  H.  Ting,  employed  as  my  clerk,  was  admitted  to 
practice  from  my  office,  bright  and  intelligent,  and  should 
have  succeeded,  but  something  was  wanting. 

"Llewellyn  C.  Barry,  clever,  gentlemanly, intelligent,  mar 
ried  a  rich  wife,  a  refined  man,  but  not  a  strong  one. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  397 

"Henry  Latrobe,  Ferdinand  Latrobe,  Osmun  Latrobe,  R. 
Stuart  Latrobe,  John  Latrobe,  my  sons,  all  alive  now  ex 
cept  Henry,  the  son  of  my  first  wife.  None  took  kindly  to 
the  law.  Henry  went  into  business,  Ferdinand  did  the 
same,  and  so  did  Osmun.  Both  had  the  makings  of  lawyers. 
Ferdinand  is  Mayor  of  Baltimore,  now  in  his  4th  year  of 
service.  Osmun  went  into  the  Southern  Army,  left  it  as 
Chief  of  Staff  to  Longstreet,  is  now  in  Europe.  Stuart  and 
John  are  still  at  the  Bar,  but  neither  loves  the  law.  My 
nephew,  B.  H.  Latrobe,  studied  law  with  me,  went  to  min 
istry,  and  is  now  rector  of  a  church  in  Philadelphia.  Joshua 
J.  Wilkinson,  intelligent,  but  not  cut  out  for  the  profes 
sion,  has  means,  and  still  belongs  to  it.  Jack  Lucas,  the 
son  of  my  old  and  best  friend,  F.  Lucas,  was  another  student 
with  plenty  of  ability.  He  died  early.  Thomas  Whelan,  still 
alive  and  busy  in  the  profession  in  a  quiet  way.  Charles  W. 
Crocker  was  yet  another  student,  whom  I  lost  sight  of  after 
leaving  the  office.  Marion,  another  lost  sight  of.  Twenty- 
four  in  all. 

Of  Osmun  Latrobe  who  died  in  1915  we  have  the  follow 
ing  record: — 

"Headquarters  First  Army  Corps, 

April  11,  1865. 
"Colonel:— 

"The  deplorable  events  of  yesterday  will  cause,  for  a 
time  at  least,  our  speedy  separation.  I  seize  a  moment  of 
leisure  to  express  my  profound  regret  at  leaving  you,  as 
well  as  for  the  distinguished  services  you  have  done  for  the 
cause  of  the  Confederate  States. 

"Commencing  the  war  as  A.  D.  C.  to  Brig.  General D.  R. 
Jones,  your  fidelity  to  duty  and  gallantry  on  the  field  won 
for  you  the  promotion  of  Major  in  the  Asst.  Adjt.  Genl.'s 
Department  and  assignment  to  me. 


398  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"When  Col.  Sorrel  was  promoted  to  Brig.  General,  I  felt 
that  your  intelligence,  courage  and  devotion  to  principle, 
entitled  you  to  your  present  rank,  to  which,  in  accordance 
with  my  recommendation,  you  were  assigned.  The  ability 
with  which  you  performed  its  responsible  and  arduous 
duties,  always  commanded  my  profound  respect. 

"With  the  most  fervent  hope  for  your  future  happiness 
and  success,  I  am,  Colonel, 

Your  sincere  friend, 

J.  Longstreet, 

Lieut.  Gen'l. 
To  Lieut.  Colonel  Osmun  Latrobe." 


"Headquarters,  Armies  of  the  Confederacy. 

11  April,   1865. 

"The  conduct  of  Lieut.  Colonel  Osmun  Latrobe  on  the 
field  and  in  camp  frequently  coming  within  my  knowledge, 
I  had  good  opportunity  to  judge  of  his  merit  and  worth. 
Concurring  in  the  commendation  of  Lieut.  Gen'l.  Long- 
street,  I  take  pleasure  in  bearing  testimony  to  his  high 
qualities  as  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman. 

R.  E.  Lee, 
General." 

"I  forgot,  when  going  over  the  names  of  the  students  of 
my  law  office,  Moale,  a  very  reliable  young  man,  long  since 
dead.  The  reference  to  my  students  reminds  me  of  a  coin 
cidence  occurring  in  the  present  year  1883,  when  Lord  Cole 
ridge  visited  the  U.  S.  The  Bar  Association  of  Baltimore 
invited  him  to  a  dinner  and  I  was  appointed  on  the  Com 
mittee  that  was  to  receive  him  on  his  arrival.  When  the 
Committee  met  at  the  R.  R.  Station,  I  found  that  of  the 
four  lawyers  of  whom  it  consisted,  two  had  been  my  students, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  399 

and  these  two  the  most  distinguished  of  them,  Mr.  Gwynn, 
the  Attorney  General  of  Maryland,  and  Archibald  Stirling, 
the  U.  S.  Attorney,  both  now  grayheaded  men,  who  with 
their  old  instructor  and  Mr.  Nevitt  Steele  received  the 
Chief  Justice  of  England.  Since  my  enumeration  of  my 
students  on  the  preceding  page,  Mr.  Presstman,  who  has  been 
a  Judge  of  a  Court  in  Baltimore,  has  died,  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him,  a  high  toned  gentleman,  honest  as  the  sun. 
Radcliffe  is  dead,  too,  not  long  since.  He  had  returned 
from  Washington,  to  which  place  he  had  gone  to  practice 
law,  and  after  a  few  years  of  professional  life  in  his  old  hunt 
ing  grounds  he  has  passed  away." 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  a  director  of  and  counsel  for  the  Union 
Bank  from  1832  to  1837.  He  thus  describes  his  connec 
tion  with  the  Bank: 

"I  forget  when  I  was  chosen  a  director  of  the  Union 
Bank  of  Maryland,  but  think  it  must  have  been  about  the 
year  1832 — perhaps  a  year  or  so  before  that  date.  I  had 
fallen  in  with  the  President,  Mr.  Thomas  Ellicott,  and  some 
fancy  that  he  had  for  me  was  shown  in  putting  me  into  the 
Board.  I  was  a  regular  attendant  and  the  appointment 
did  me  no  disservice. 

"Of  those  who  sat  at  the  Board  of  the  Union  Bank  I  am 
the  only  surviving  director;  the  cashier,  my  friend,  Robert 
Mickle,  is  still  alive,  an  older  man  than  I  am  and  still  in 
his  office,  as  active  and  intelligent  as  ever. 

"But  by  far  the  most  remarkable  person  here  was  the 
late  Thomas  Ellicott,  a  man  of  rare  qualities,  of  extraordi 
nary  intelligence,  and  as  fit  to  command  an  Army  as  to 
determine  questions  of  bank  policy.  His  physique  was  re 
markable.  He  must  have  been  six  feet  four  inches,  a  great, 
thin,  broad-shouldered  person,  with  a  massive  square  brow 
shadowing  deep  sunk  eyes  that  lit  up  a  face,  whose  com- 


400  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

plexion  was  a  pale,  unhealthy  one,  with  a  stern  determina 
tion.  A  heavy  jaw  and  tightly  compressed  lips  made  firm 
ness  and  iron  will  the  characteristics  of  his  countenance. 
Mr.  Ellicott  was  a  Quaker  and,  save  that  he  dressed  in 
black,  wore  the  garb  and  hat  of  the  sect.  His  stride  was 
corresponding  to  his  height  and,  although  later  in  life  he 
stooped,  his  carriage  was  eminently  imposing,  and  strangers 
turned  as  he  passed  to  look  at  the  commanding  person  of 
Thomas  Ellicott,  Eleven  men  were  on  the  Board,  but  it 
was  Mr.  Ellicott's  will  that  swayed  their  actions.  Thomas 
Ellicott  was  born  1777  and  died  in  1859. 

"There  were  few  men  that  the  late  Roger  B.  Taney  had 
more  regard  for  than  Mr.  Ellicott,  and  I  am  satisfied  that 
the  removal  of  the  deposits  and  the  pet  bank  system  were 
promoted  by  him,  even  if  not  originated.  Long  before  either 
measure  was  adopted,  Mr.  Ellicott  and  Mr.  Taney  were 
close  friends,  as  it  seemed  to  me.  He  was  a  visitor  at  Mr. 
Taney's  house,  and  I  saw  him  more  than  once,  and  on  these 
occasions  I  know  the  financed  affairs  were  the  subject  of 
conversation.  Were  I  examined  on  this  point,  which  is  an 
interesting  one,  I  might  probably  be  driven  to  say  that 
after  all  my  opinion  rested  on  my  knowledge  of  Mr.  Elli 
cott's  views  as  expressed  again  and  again  before  the  deposits 
were  removed.  Their  correspondence  with  those  of  Mr. 
Taney  he  developed  by  his  action  in  this  connection,  and  by 
the  fact  that  among  the  first  of  the  pet  banks  selected  by 
Mr.  Taney  was  the  Union  Bank,  of  which  Mr.  Ellicott  was 
President. 

"Mr.  Ellicott  was  not  without  ambition.  He  wanted  to 
go  to  Europe  as  the  agent  of  the  Bank  to  dispose  of  certain 
securities  held  by  it;  and  circumstances  at  last  made  him 
unpopular.  A  combination  was  formed  against  him,  and  he 
and  his  Board,  myself  inter  alios,  were  turned  out  of  office 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  401 

— after  1837, 1  know,  but  when  exactly  I  do  not  remember. 
I  was  a  member  in  1835,  for  in  the  panic  times  of  that  year 
Mr.  Mayhew  and  myself  were  authorized  to  exercise  the 
powers  of  the  Board  which  did  not  meet  for  several  weeks, 
during  which  Mr.  Mayhew  granted  or  withheld  discounts 
at  his  pleasure.  He  had  the  knowledge  of  parties  applying 
for  them  that  I  wanted,  and  I  had  sense  enough  not  to  in 
terfere  with  anything  he  did.  When  the  Board  resumed 
its  sessions,  it  was  to  ratify  all  that  the  Committee  had 
done  during  its  recess.  So  much  for  my  Bank  directorship. 
"The  story  of  Mr.  Ellicott's  unpopularity  is  told  in  the 
history  of  Ellicott,  Poultney  &  Company.  Mr.  Evan  Poult- 
ney  was  the  President  of  the  Maryland  Bank;  a  combina 
tion  was  formed  to  control  the  Bank,  through  the  ownership 
of  the  stock.  In  1834,  the  Bank  failed  and  made  a  Deed 
of  Trust  to  Thomas  Ellicott,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  credi 
tors.  J.  B.  Morris  and  R.  W.  Gill  were  made  Trustees  to  act 
with  Ellicott.  John  Glenn  and  Reverdy  Johnson  acted  as 
counsel  for  the  Trustees.  There  was  much  said  as  to  the 
cause  of  failure.  Fraud  was  charged,  and  an  active  paper 
war  was  waged.  A  delay  of  seventeen  months  was  too 
much  for  the  temper  of  the  people,  and  on  August  7,  8  and 
9,  1835,  a  mob  took  possession  of  the  town.  They  looted 
Reverdy  Johnson's  house  on  the  corner  of  Fayette  and  Cal- 
vert  Streets.  They  did  the  same  to  John  Glenn's  house 
on  Charles  Street.  John  B.  Morris  fared  no  better.  Mr. 
Jesse  Hunt  was  Mayor.  I  think  he  had  been  a  director 
of  the  Maryland  Bank.  They  looted  his  house  and  burned 
his  furniture.  They  burned  Johnson's  house  and  Glenn's 
and  Morris's.  Jesse  Hunt  resigned  his  position  of  Mayor 
on  the  llth  day  of  August,  1835.  The  veteran  warrior 
(eighty-three  years  old),  General  Samuel  Smith,  took  com 
mand  of  the  City,  and  on  the  10th  what  is  known  as  the 


402  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Bank  Riot  was  over.  The  State  paid  over  $100,000  to  the 
people  whose  property  was  injured.  Mr.  Latrobe  was  ab 
sent  from  the  City  on  a  visit  to  Virginia  Springs.  He 
writes  in  his  diary: 

"Back  to  Baltimore  on  the  23rd  August,  1835.  The  riots 
had  occurred  in  the  meantime,  and  I  felt  ashamed  of  the 
City  of  my  selection  when  I  saw  the  ravages  of  the  insane 
mob." 

Among  the  letters  in  the  custody  of  the  Maryland  His 
torical  Society  is  a  quaint  and  interesting  account  of  the 
riot  known  as  the  "Bank  Riots  of  1835." 
"Edward  Stabler, 

Postmaster, 
Sandy  Spring, 

Montgomery  Co.,  Maryland. 

Balto.  8  Mo.  12th,  1835.    No.  76  So.  Calvert  Street. 
"Dear  Edward:— 

"Thine  of  7th  inst.  is  before  me. 

"We  have  seen  things  awfully  strange  in  this  City  within 
a  week,  I  tell  thee.  On  fifth  day  night  a  considerable  num 
ber  of  folk,  good,  bad  and  indifferent  assembled  in  Monu 
ment  Square,  before  the  door  of  Reverdy  Johnson  (of  Bank 
of  Maryland  memory).  Without  much  ado  they  dispersed, 
because,  as  they  said,  that  was  not  the  time  they  intended 
to  operate,  that  time  being  fixed  for  7th  day  night.  On 
sixth  day  evening  the  crowd  again  met,  in  numbers  greater 
than  before.  Some  unruly  spirits  now  threw  a  few  stones 
and  broke  a  few  glass  in  R.  Johnson's  windows.  They 
were  again  advised  to  desist,  which  they  did  and  retired  by 
10  or  eleven  o'clock,  giving  clear  indications  that  they  would 
be  punctual  to  their  engagements  by  the  next  evening.  Ar 
rangements  were  now  made,  and  a  few  armed  men  sur 
rounded  the  property  of  Johnson  on  7th  day  evening  for 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  403 

the  purpose  of  protecting  it.  The  Mob  appeared,  was 
beaten  off  and  some  three  or  five  killed,  and  ten  or  twenty 
wounded.  Finding  themselves  repulsed  at  Johnson's  a  de 
tachment  rushed  round  to  Glenn's  (of  like  memory)  in 
Charles  Street.  Here  they  made  an  effectual  and  unre- 
sisted  attack,  and  very  soon  had  his  furniture  all  in  the  street, 
where  it  was  entirely  destroyed  by  breaking  and  tearing  it 
to  pieces.  The  Mob  now  found  themselves  Masters,  and 
went  on  unmolested  in  this  part  of  the  town.  In  the  morn 
ing  I  went  there,  and  saw  that  the  House  was  too  greatly 
injured. 

"I  do  not  know  what  Glenn's  loss  amounts  to,  but  when 
I  tell  thee  his  wines  alone  are  said  to  have  cost  over  four 
thousand  Dollars,  I  am  very  sure  thee  would  not  pay  all 
his  losses  for  a  sum  under  Twenty  Thousand  Dollars.  The 
rioters  remained,  I  mean  some  twenty  of  them,  picking  at 
Glenn's  house  till  6  P.M.  when  they  knocked  off.  Now, 
what  think  thee?  These  twenty  persons  carried  on  their 
un-lawful  game  in  the  presence  of  from  2000  to  Five  Thou 
sand  persons,  who  witnessed  it  and  not  one  word  of  objec 
tion  was  raised! 
"All  first  day  it  was  well  understood  that  destruction 

ras  to  be  the  order  of  the  night,  yet  not  one  step  taken  to 

)revent  it  by  those  who  should  have  done  so ! 
"But  to  my  narrative.     I  say  the  mob  boldly  declared 

fho  might  expect  them,  and  accordingly  before  9  o'clock 
the  evening  a  fire  was  built  before  the  door  of  Johnson's 

louse  and  his  furniture  was  all  thrown  thereon  and  de 
stroyed.    His  house  very  soon  presented  a  fearful  wreck. 

[is  loss  must  be  over  that  of  Glenn's — unless  indeed  P. 
E.  Thomas  should  happen  to  find  a  part  thereof  to  fall  on 

dm,  as  the  owner  in  part  of  the  House.    This  burning  was  an 
iprovement  on  the  Glenn  plan.    By  eleven  o'clock  part  of 


404  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

these  Beauties  passed  down  Calvert  street  to  Hugh  McEl- 
drey's  new  House.  They  were  about  giving  it  a  brush  when 
the  carpenter,  who  was  building,  appeared  and  told  them 
if  the  House  was  destroyed  the  loss  would  fall  on  him,  as 
he  had  not  delivered  the  key.  They  then  went  to  the  house 
he  occupied,  which  by  the  by  he  had  left  during  first  day, 
having  taken  a  hint  that  his  presence  might  be  more  agree 
able  to  the  mob,  than  theirs  would  be  to  him.  So  the  own 
ers  of  the  house  telling  them  the  loss  would  not  fall  on  Mc- 
Eldrey  if  they  destroyed  anything  there,  they  went  off,  and 
found  the  House  of  Jesse  Hunt  (our  poor  frightened  Mayor) . 
His  furniture  was  soon  consigned  to  the  flames,  as  had  been 
that  of  Johnson. 

"They  now  went  after  Dr.  (Frederick  E.  B.)  Hintze. 
The  Dr.  lives  in  Gay  Street.  He  had  killed  one  of  the  Mob 
on  seventh  day  night  as  he  said,  and  the  great  man  had  done 
more  than  that  in  his  own  conceit.  He  had  really  rode 
over  many  more.  This  boasting  had  inflamed  them,  so  to 
him  they  went.  His  wife  appeared  before  them.  She 
declared  the  property  was  not  the  Doctor's,  but  all  belonged 
to  her,  having  been  inherited  from  her  father.  They  now 
went  to  Cpt.  Benzinger,  he  was  a  Captain  whom  they 
didn't  fancy,  to  him  they  gave  sorrowful  demonstrations  of 
ill-will,  as  also  to  Willie,  in  Franklin  Street,  for  no  higher 
offence  than  doing  his  duty  as  a  soldier.  But  now  thee 
shall  hear  what  was  much  worse  as  to  destruction  of  prop 
erty,  than  what  relates  to  a  dozen  Captains  or  Soldiers. 
To  my  friend  Jno.  B.  Morris  in  South  Street  they  now 
pushed.  His  furniture  was  all  destroyed  by  fire  and  House 
greatly  injured;  I  should  be  within  bounds  were  I  to  say 
his  loss  is  greatest  of  any. 

"From  John's  they  went — I  mean  a  party  under  the 
command  of  their  leader  called  "Black  Hawk" — to  Light 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  405 

street  wharf  in  search  of  McEldrey's  Lumber  yard.  At  the 
gate  they  were  overheard  by  Cpt.  Carver,  who  is  my  author, 
that  they  stated  on  examining  the  premises  that  it  would 
not  do  to  set  it  on  fire  as  they  had  intended,  owing  to  the 
destruction  that  must  ensue  to  the  owner  of  the  adjoining 
yard.  Black  Hawk  ordered  them  away,  but  one  third  still 
remained,  intending,  as  is  concluded,  notwithstanding  his 
orders,  to  fire  the  yard.  Their  leaders  returned  and  com 
manded  them  to  desist,  but  to  go  up  Pratt  Street  and  finish 
the  work  of  the  night  on  Evan  T.  Ellicott;  so  up  they  went. 
Saw  Evan  Poultney  who  confessed  his  sins,  to  which  they 
replied,  "for  the  present"  they  were  satisfied  and  then  went 
to  work  at  Evan  T.  Ellicott's.  I  now  say  what  I  saw. 

"Did  thee  ever  see  corn  husked  by  about  50  spirited 
negroes?  Just  as  the  corn  flies  from  their  hands,  so  did 
Evan's  furniture  go  on  a  burning  fire  that  ascended  half  to 
the  top  of  the  House.  An  engine  kept  it  from  going  to  the 
top  of  the  House.  At  about  4  they  blew  their  horn  and 
quickly  retired,  after  spending  with  the  latter  director  but 
about  an  hour  and  a  half,  at  most  not  two  hours.  Thy 
friend  Wm.  E.  Bartlett." 

"My  first  sheet  brings  us  down  to  a  little  past  4  o'clock 
on  second  day  morning  when  I  saw  this  outrageous  pro 
ceeding  terminate  at  Evan's — from  thence  I  went  to  the 
other  places  of  distinction.  At  Johnson's  I  saw  about  twenty 
operators  as  much  interested  in  the  work  of  destruction,  as 
ever  they  were  taken  up  in  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 
Not  a  hand  was  raised — as  at  Glenn's,  so  here — 5000  Per 
sons  stood  looking  on,  men  and  boys,  some  of  them,  I  am 
sure  not  over  ten  years  of  age,  hauling  and  pulling  at  all 
parts  of  the  house;  it  reminded  me  of  a  set  of  wood  peckers 
on  an  old  dry  tree,  so  slow  did  they  advance  their  work. 
In  sickening  disgust  I  crept  down  to  my  store,  not  knowing 


406  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

what  to  expect.  The  City  was  then  in  and  under  the 
control  of  a  Mob;  not  a  step  being  taken  to  arrest  their 
course.  But  deliverance  was  at  hand!  Our  Brave  and 
worthy  Citizen  Genl.  Smith  was  here.  He  rallied  some  of 
the  Blood  royals.  These  carrying  the  star  spangled  ban 
ner  waving  over  their  heads  marched  through  the  streets 
and  thus  collected  a  pretty  considerable  band.  They 
adopted  a  course  which  being  executed  by  sundown  of  sec 
ond  day,  we  had  an  assurance  that  the  Laws  of  good  order 
were  again  in  force.  We  are  now,  thanks  to  Genl.  Smith  and 
his  worthies,  thanks  to  the  good  people  of  this  insulted  City, 
again  safe.  The  City  is  alive  all  night — at  every  corner  you 
may  see  large  companies  of  worthies  marching  to  and  fro, 
and  a  mob  man,  as  such,  cannot  be  seen. 

I  am  not  sure  that  the  mob  is  done,  because  they  had 
work  laid  out,  which  has  not  been  accomplished. 

When  thee  learns  the  true  cause  of  all  this  disturbance, 
thee  will,  I  dare  say,  have  a  different  view  thereof  than  at 
first  sight  taken. 

The  Bank  of  Maryland  injured  thousands.  All  that  were 
connected  with  that  institution  at  the  time  it  failed,  have 
been  considered  by  the  people  at  large  as  being  enriched  at 
their  expense.  The  sufferers  bore  their  loss  with  commend 
able  fortitude  until  they  supposed  no  lawful  remedy  would 
avail  them.  They  then  followed  the  example  of  the  Vicks- 
burg  people  in  attempting  to  inflict  the  Lynch  Law;  and 
I  suppose  had  they  been  able  to  catch  the  Obnoctious  Di 
rectors  of  said  institution,  they  would  have  been  altogether 
satisfied  to  have  given  each  of  them  a  dress  of  Tar  and 
feathers.  Not  finding  them,  they  fell — as  I  have  shown — 
on  their  property,  and  have  doubtless  distroyed  one  Hun 
dred  Thousand  dollars  worth  thereof. 

By  the  time  this  reaches  thee  I  suppose  myself,  wife  and 
little  ones  will  be  on  our  way  to  the  Land  of  my  nativity. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  407 

I  do  not  feel  altogether  easy  to  leave  home  during  these 
times  of  Commotion  and  would  not,  were  it  not  that  our 
friends  there  will  be  put  to  some  trouble  if  we  do  not  go  as 
promised  them. 

Jno.  Livingston  has  told  the  Monthly  Meeting  that  he 
intends  to  Marry  Ann  Scott. 

I  am  thy  friend, 
Wm.  E.  Bartlett." 

In  an  interesting  Life  of  Reverdy  Johnson,  by  Bernard 
C.  Steiner,  will  be  found  the  details  of  this  outbreak  and 
its  cause.  A  suit  was  brought  against  Reverdy  Johnson, 
which  was  tried  in  1836,  and  the  jury  acquitted  him  of  all 
blame  in  connection  with  the  failure  of  the  Bank  of  Mary 
land.  He  filed  a  memorial  in  1836  in  the  Legislature  in 
the  same  year,  claiming  that  he  was  entitled  to  be  reim 
bursed  for  the  destruction  of  his  property;  as  did  Jno.  B. 
Morris.  The  report  of  the  committee  was  favorable  and 
damages  were  paid. 

A  bill  alleging  fraud  was  filed  against  Ellicott,  Poultney 
&  Company,  in  1836,  to  prevent  the  voting  of  certain  stock 
of  the  Union  Bank,  which  would  enable  the  members  of  that 
firm  to  control  the  Bank.  An  injunction  was  granted,  and 
Mr.  Hugh  W.  Evans  became  President  of  the  Union  Bank, 
in  place  of  Thomas  Ellicott.  In  this  connection  the  fol 
lowing  poetic  effusion  represents  the  feelings  of  the  times: — 

THE  FOLLOWING  HEROIC  POEM 
Is  DEDICATED  WITH  GREAT  DIFFIDENCE  AND  MUCH  DEFERENCE 

TO   THE 

STOCKHOLDERS  OF  THE  UNION  BANK  OF  MARYLAND. 

The  devil  was  making  a  thunder-storm 

At  his  lightning  forge  below, 
When  he  heard  the  voice  of  "Bank  Reform" 

Across  his  kingdom  go. 


408  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

He  had  been  a  reformer  himself  of  old, 
And  he  knew  the  business  well; 

So  he  thought  it  would  better,  a  hundred  fold, 
The  census-books  of  hell. 

He  called  for  a  grey  and  grim,  old  sprite 
Who  had  lorded  it  in  his  day; 

And  gave  him  in  hell  a  "Trustee's"  might, 
While  he  himself  was  away. 

He  donned  a  hat,  with  a  two  foot  brim, 
And  turned  his  collar  down; 

His  coat  was  a  blue,  of  as  solemn  a  trim 
As  ever  deceived  the  town. 

A  kerchief  white,  like  a  maiden's  staid, 
Was  tied  around  his  fire-proof  throat; 

His  vest  of  broken-bank-notes  was  made, 
Here  and  there  a  protested  note. 

He  started  off  at  a  whirlwind  pace 
On  his  way  to  the  seat  of  war; 

But  'twas  long  and  long  ere  he  ran  his  race, 
The  journey  was  so  far. 

The  Devil  got  tired,  and  well  he  might, 

For  he  is  no  chicken  now; 
And  the  frosts  of  age  are  sparkling  bright 

Upon  his  horny  brow. 

When  he  reached  the  earth,  what  should  he  see 
But  an  engine  smoking  near; 

And  as  few  like  smoke  as  well  as  he, 
He  mounted  in  the  rear. 

When  the  Devil  had  started  at  Ellicott's  Mills 
And  stopped  at  Ellicott's  store, 

He  thought  he  was  doomed  to  ride  and  run 
Betwixt  Ellicott's — evermore. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  409 

He  left  the  car,  and  up  Market  Street 

In  silence  did  he  go, 
When  what  should  first  his  eye-sight  greet 

But  Ellicott,  Poultney  &  Co. 

He  ran  'till  he  turned  the  corner  'round, 

And  he  thought  him  then  secure; 
But  not  the  Devil  himself  e'er  found 

One  thing  he  could  call  sure. 

For  a  huge  brick  house  was  before  him  then, 

And  a  Bank  he  took  it  to  be; 
So  he  entered  in  with  a  crowd  of  men 

The  "Bank  Reform"  to  see. 

But  when  he  was  in,  what  should  he  hear 

But  the  self-same  sound  as  before; 
And  Ellicott — Ellicott — struck  his  ear, 

Tom  Ellicott — was  the  roar. 

'Ha!  ha!  ha!  ha!  and  I've  got  it  at  last' 

Screamed  out  the  father  of  evil; 
'I've  found  whom  I've  sought  for  a  century  past, 

I've  found  Old  Tom  the  Devil.' 

That  moment  he  saw  a  man  come  forth 

With  a  roll  of  notes  in  his  hand; 
And  $25,000  was  on  a  box 

Close  by,  where  he  saw  him  stand. 

Now  the  Devil  who  knew  a  thing  or  two 

Without  need  of  being  told, 
When  he  saw  the  widow's  pittance  there, 

Could  not  more  his  patience  hold. 

He  gave  brother  Tom  so  loud  a  curse 

That  the  specie  jingled  round; 
And  the  quill-arm'd  clerks  jumped  up  and  ran 

At  the  fierce  and  dreadful  sound. 


410  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

'Now  pray,  and  who  in  the  Devil  art  thou?' 

Friend  Tom  quite  bravely  cried. 
'I'm  your  master,  Sir,  and  the  Devil  too,' 

The  true  old  imp  replied. 

'Be  thou  what  thou  mayest,'  cried  Tom  in  turn, 

'Avaunt,  I  know  no  fear, 
I've  got  the  proxies  all  settled  for  me, 

And  I'm  head-Devil  here.' 

Old  Nick  gave  forth  one  loud,  laughing  yell, 

And  seized  him  by  the  hair; 
Before  one  minute  was  Tom  in  hell, 

Keeping  "silent  meeting"  there. 

And  ever  since  then  the  Union's  sky 

Has  met  with  cloudy  weather; 
So  that  you  and  all  must  up  and  try, 

Or  you'll  go  to  the  Devil  together. 

Old  Nick  went  on  to  the  Capitol 

To  get  rid  of  the  Ellicott  name; 
And  were  you  half  as  wise  as  the  Devil, 

You'd  endeavor  to  do  the  same. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  Sou  they,  think  that  the 
above  should  be  headed  "with  apologies  to  the  'Devil's 
Walk."  The  first  verses  show  the  origin  of  the  writer's 
inspiration. 

THE  DEVIL'S  WALK. 

From  his  brimstone  bed  at  break  of  day 

A-walking  the  Devil  has  gone, 
To  look  at  his  snug  farm  of  the  world, 

And  see  how  his  stock  went  on. 

Over  the  hill  and  over  the  dale, 

And  he  went  over  the  plain, 
And  backward  and  forward  he  swished  his  tail, 

As  a  gentleman  swishes  his  cane. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  411 

How  then  was  the  Devil  dressed? 

Oh!  he  was  in  his  Sunday  best, 
His  coat  was  red  and  his  breeches  were  blue, 

And  there  was  a  hole  where  his  tail  came  through! 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  MARYLAND  INSTITUTE — THE  MARYLAND  HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY — LATROBE  JUSTICE'S  PRACTICE — MASONRY — J. 
P.  KENNEDY — PAINTER — GREENMOUNT — MR.  LATROBE'S 
POETIC  TALENT 

"It  was  soon  after  my  admission  to  the  bar,  1824-25,  as 
nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  that  the  plan  of  Mechanic's  In 
stitute  originated  with  Dr.  Birkbeck  in  London,  and  was 
followed  by  the  establishment  of  the  Franklin  Institute  in 
Philadelphia.  This  idea  took  my  fancy  greatly,  and  I 
thought  that  it  might  be  carried  out,  perhaps,  in  Baltimore. 
I  consulted  with  my  good  friend,  Fielding  Lucas,  and  Col. 
Wm.  Stewart,  and  perhaps  one  or  two  others,  who  agreed 
to  sustain  any  effort  I  might  make.  So,  providing  a  chair 
man  and  secretary,  the  latter  being  Mr.  Smith,  a  teacher 
of  drawing  and  an  eager  advocate,  though  a  very  modest, 
amiable  man,  I  published  a  notice  in  the  papers  and,  I 
think,  an  article  or  two,  descriptive  of  what  was  intended, 
calling  a  meeting  at  a  large  room  called  'Concert  Hall/  in 
South  Charles  Street,  then  often  used  for  such  purposes, 
and  in  fact  the  only  public  room  in  Baltimore  in  those  days 
suitable  for  the  purpose.  When  the  meeting  assembled,  I 
made  a  speech  after  the  organization  had  been  effected,  and 
I  remember  was  followed  by  Col.  U.  S.  Heath,  a  prominent 
lawyer,  afterwards  a  Judge,  who  was  prompted  by  the 
spirit  of  the  moment  and  proposed  offhand  measures  that 
did  not  exactly  correspond  with  the  program  I  had  pre 
pared.  Things  for  a  moment  threatened  to  go  wrong,  until 
Col.  Heath,  ascertaining  that  I  had  prepared  what  was  to  be 

412 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  413 

N 

done,  came  to  me,  scolded  me  for  not  having  let  him  know 
what  I  was  after,  in  a  good  humored  way — and  I  soon  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  everything  go  off  with  a  rush.  In 
a  little  while  the  Institute  was  organized  in  a  practical 
way.  I  prepared  its  charter,  and  it  is  still  in  existence, 
prospering  and  to  prosper.  We  commenced  with  a  feeble 
exhibition  of  manufactured  articles,  in  the  room  where  our 
public  meeting  was  held — my  main  recollection  of  the  dis 
play  being  immense  specimens  of  cabinet  wear,  and  an  ex 
traordinary  smell  of  new  leather.  I  have  more  than  once 
since  been  recognized  in  public  addresses  as  the  founder  of 
the  Institute,  and  I  am  certainly  proud  of  the  part  I  took 
in  the  matter. 

"Among  the  Laws  of  1825,  Chapter  4  is  the  law  incor 
porating  the  Maryland  Institute  for  the  promotion  of  the 
Mechanic's  Art. 

"The  officers  named  were  William  Stewart,  President, 
George  Warner,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.,  Vice-Presidents,  John 
Mouton,  Recording  Secretary,  Dr.  William  Howard,  Cor 
responding  Secretary,  Samuel  Harden,  Treasurer. 

"Managers :  James  H.  Clark,  John  D.  Craig,  D.  G.  McCoy, 
Jacob  Deems,  Solomon  Etting,  William  H.  Freeman,  Ben 
jamin  C.  Howard,  Moses  Hand,  William  Hubbard,  William 
Krebs,  Thomas  Kelso,  Robert  Carey  Long,  John  H.  B.  La- 
trobe,  Peter  Leary,  William  Meeter,  James  Mosher,  Heze- 
kiah  Niles,  Henry  Parson,  William  Roney,  Joseph  K. 
Stapleton,  William  F.  Small,  James  Sykes,  James  R.  Sul 
livan,  Samuel  D.  Walker."  These  were  the  men  to  whom 
Mr.  Latrobe  in  another  part  of  his  note  says  Baltimore  owes 
much. 

"We  wanted  to  get  up  a  course  of  lectures,  but  it  was 
heavy  work.  I  contributed  two  on  the  law  of  apprentices 
which  put,  I  think,  a  large  part  of  my  audience  to  sleep.  I 


414  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

was  more  successful  afterward,  when,  year  after  year,  I 
delivered  the  opening  address  of  each  winter's  course  of 
instruction.  I  find  among  the  papers  a  copy  of  a  resolution 
on  the  subject,  1829. 

"Baltimore,  29th  October,  1829. 
Dear  Sir:— 

I  beg  leave  to  hand  you  a  copy  of  a  resolution  passed  at  a  regular 
meeting  of  the  Managers  of  the  Maryland  Institute  held  the  27th 
inst. 

'Resolved  unanimously,  that  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  be  re 
quested  to  return  the  thanks  of  the  Managers  to  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe, 
Esq.,  for  the  very  able  and  appropriate  public  address  delivered  by 
him,  introductory  to  the  commencement  of  the  Lectures;  and  to 
request  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  furnish  a  copy  for  publication. ' 

In  compliance  with  this  resolution  of  the  Managers,  and  in  their 
names,  I  have  the  pleasure  to  thank  you  for  the  very  interesting  and 
popular  discourse  delivered  in  the  Institute  (preparatory  to  the  open 
ing  of  the  present  course  of  Lectures)  before  a  large  assemblage  of 
Beauty  and  Science,  by  whom  the  Hall  was  filled,  and  who  appeared 
to  listen  with  delight  to  every  portion  of  your  discourse,  and  to  re 
quest,  that  you  may  be  pleased  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the 
managers  and  furnish  them  with  a  copy  for  publication,  thereby 
gratifying  a  large  portion  of  our  fellow  citizens  (who  could  not  be 
accommodated  hi  the  hall)  with  the  views  and  object  of  the  Maryland 
Institute ;  which,  the  Board  of  Managers  feel  assured,  will,  with  suitable 
patronage,  become  one  of  the  most  useful  and  distinguished  schools 
for  extending  the  knowledge  of  the  mechanic  arts,  and  enlarging 
the  bounds  of  Science  in  this  or  any  other  country. 
I  am  with  the  greatest  respect, 

Dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

Joseph    K.    Stapleton, 
Chairman  Board  Managers, 
Maryland  Institute. 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq." 

"As  the  thing  became  popular,  and  the  membership  was 
numerous,  we  obtained  from  Pixie  in  Paris  an  admirable 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  415 

selection  of  apparatus  in  the  departments  of  chemistry  and 
natural  philosophy,  in  their  application  to  the  mechanic's 
arts.  Mr.  Smith  gave  lessons  in  drawing,  and  Dr.  Wm. 
Howard  on  natural  philosophy,  and  other  gentlemen,  whose 
names  I  have  forgotten,  lent  their  assistance  as  lecturers. 
We  moved,  too,  from  Charles  Street  to  the  Athenaeum  Build 
ing,  and  the  Institute  prospered  more  and  more  every  year, 
until  the  building  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  all  our  records 
and  collections  were  burnt  up.  This  was  in  February 
1835.  Then  it  slept  for  years,  until  it  was  revived  mainly 
by  the  efforts  of  Mr.  B.  F.  Benson,  and  has  since  worked 
its  way  successfully  in  the  building  over  the  market  house 
in  Marsh  Market  Space.  As  a  sample  of  its  growth,  it 
may  be  stated  that  Mr.  Smith's  twenty  or  thirty  pupils  in 
the  drawing  school  have  grown  to  be  five  hundred  and  up 
ward  in  the  school  of  design  under  the  care  of  Professor 
Woodward.  How  often  since,  as  I  have  spoken  to  thousands 
in  the  present  spacious  and  brilliantly  lighted  hall,  have  I 
not  recollected  the  modest  days  of  the  earlier  existence  of 
the  Maryland  Institute.  Since  then,  through  the  gener 
osity  of  Mr.  Michael  Jenkins  and  Mr.  Carnegie,  the  Mary 
land  Institute  has  a  handsome  home  on  Mt.  Royal  Avenue, 
in  the  City  of  Baltimore."  | 

The  Committee  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  ap 
pointed  at  the  meeting  held  to  commemorate  Mr.  Latrobe's 
death  uses  the  following  language : 

"An  institution  or  enterprise  designed  to  promote  that 
end  (the  welfare  of  the  City  and  State),  the  Maryland  In 
stitute,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  early  Presidents,  had 
his  warm  sympathies  and  constant  support. 

In  a  letter  from  Charles  Harper  to  Latrobe,  dated  Janu 
ary  2,  1826,  occurs  the  following: 

"The  creation  of  the  Maryland  Institute  is  your  work." 


416  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Mr.  S.  Teackle  Wallis,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  bar,  in 
delivering  a  lecture  on  the  subject  of  art  at  the  Maryland 
Institute,  June  4,  1881,  said: 

"  Of  the  conspicuous  and  valuable  citizens  who  were  the 
early  friends  and  promoters  of  the  institute,  and  who  mani 
fested  their  interest  in  it  by  their  presence  on  the  occasion, 
there  are  but  few  now  left  (referring  to  his  address  in  1851). 

"My  friend  and  professional  brother,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe, 
whose  varied  and  remarkable  accomplishments  and  gifts 
seem  to  grow  brighter  from  their  constant  and  earnest  ap 
plication  to  all  purposes  of  practical  utility,  is  still  as  active 
and  assiduous  in  the  unpaid  service  of  our  people,  as  when 
he  delivered  the  address  before  the  Institute  in  1848,  at  the 
opening  of  its  first  annual  exhibition  at  Washington  Hall." 

In  a  book  entitled  "Baltimore,  the  Monumental  City,"  is 
the  following: 

"The  Maryland  Institute  was  organized  by  Mr.  Latrobe. 
Its  first  meeting  was  held  at  Concert  Hall,  South  Charles 
Street.  Removed  to  the  Athenaeum  Building  and  remained 
there  until  the  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1835.  Re 
organized  in  1847,  Mr.  Latrobe  delivering  the  opening 
address." 

In  a  newspaper  published  in  Baltimore,  1826: 

"Resolved,  unanimously,  that,  as  a  small  mark  of  their 
esteem,  the  thanks  of  the  readers  of  the  Apprentices  Library 
be  presented  to  J.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq.,  for  his  excellent  course 
of  lectures  gratuitously  delivered  to  them  during  the  past 
winter. 

"Resolved,  that  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be 
signed  by  the  Chairman  and  Secretary  and  the  several 
editors  requested  to  publish  them  in  the  papers. 

George  W.   Sanders, 

Charles  F.  Cloud,  Chairman. 

Secretary." 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  417 

While  these  lectures  were  not  an  actual  portion  of  the 
work  of  the  Maryland  Institute,  they  were  in  line  with  its 
course  of  instruction. 


MARYLAND  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

In  the  proceedings  in  commemoration  of  Mr.  Latrobe, 
held  September  11  and  October  12,  1891,  it  was  stated  that 
"he  was  one  of  its  original  organizers  and  incorporators." 
The  fact  that  he  was  on  the  nominating  Committee  to  name 
the  Board  of  Officers,  explains  his  absence  from  that  board. 
He  was  liberal  whenever  it  needed  financial  aid  and  almost 
lavish  in  his  gifts  of  his  valuable  time  to  promote  its  inter 
ests.  From  1866  to  1871  he  was  one  of  the  First  Vice- 
Presidents  of  the  Society,  and  for  the  succeeding  twenty 
years,  by  annual  re-election,  he  was  its  President.  It  was 
in  1844  that  steps  were  taken  to  organize  the  Society.  It 
was  called  together  in  the  rooms  of  the  Maryland  Coloni 
zation  Society,  of  which  Mr.  Latrobe  was  President.  .  .  . 
Himself  an  artist  of  no  small  merit,  he  was  active  in  estab 
lishing  the  Society  Gallery  of  Paintings. 

He  valued  most  his  distinction  as  President  of  the  Mary 
land  Historical  Society  and  President  of  the  American 
Colonization  Society.  "No  other  historical  society  in  the 
country  embraces  in  its  membership  such  a  remarkable  and 
picturesque  figure."  Albert  Ritchie. 

In  his  diary,  ten  years  before  the  Historical  Society  was 
incorporated,  is  the  following  entry: 

"Friday — October  23,  1835.  Yesterday  Johnson,  Don 
aldson  and  I  proposed  to  get  up  a  Historical  Society  in 
Maryland."  (This  is  the  beginning  of  the  Maryland  His 
torical  Society.) 

In  response  to  an  invitation  George  Bancroft  writes: 


418  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"January  31,  1881. 
"Younger  Brother: 

"You  draw  me  with  a  threefold  spell;  the  opportunity  to 
meet  our  Maryland  Historical  Society;  to  see  Baltimore 
which  I  have  loved  from  my  youth;  and  to  be  your  guest. 
Yet  this  year  I  cannot  come.  I  am  hard  at  work  printing 
a  book  and  dare  not  step  from  my  post.  Else  I  should 
obey  your  beckoning.  With  affectionate  remembrance  to 
your  house. 

"Ever  yours, 

(signed)     George    Bancroft, 
Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe."  Octogenarian. 

JUSTICE  PRACTICE 

"I  have  forgotten  an  important  undertaking  in  which  I 
was  engaged  while  yet  a  student  of  law — "Latrobe's  Jus 
tice  Practice."  This  was  suggested  to  me  by  my  good  friend, 
Wm.  Gwynn,  and  I  began  the  work  in  almost  utter  ignorance 
of  the  subject  matter.  I  taught  myself,  however,  as  I  went 
along,  and  produced  a  guide  for  the  "Dogberrys" — poor 
enough  in  its  first  edition,  but  so  much  better  than  the  edi 
tions  that  had  preceded  it  from  other  hands,  that  it  met 
with  a  rapid  sale,  and  in  a  few  years  I  was  called  upon  for 
a  second,  which  has  been  followed  by  a  third,  fourth,  fifth 
and  sixth — and  indeed  a  seventh  is  now  wanted.  AD 
previous  work  had  been  arranged  alphabetically,  and  a  cer 
tain  knowledge  of  the  laws  governing  magistrates  was  re 
quired  before  they  could  be  traced  to  advantage.  The 
plan  I  adopted  was  to  presume  the  reader  to  be  totally  ig 
norant  of  the  whole  matter  and  to  teach  him  from  the  be 
ginning,  enabling  him  to  perform  his  duties  by  turning  over 
and  reading  from  the  pages  of  the  volume  laid  open  before 
him  in  any  particular  case.  The  success  of  the  work,  which 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  419 

has  continued  to  be  the  standard,  is  the  best  proof  that 
my  innovation  in  respect  to  the  arrangement  is  not  without 
merit." 

The  only  book  published  by  Mr.  Latrobe,  besides  that 
relating  to  his  six  months  in  Europe,  is  "Latrobe's  Justice 
Practice."  He  makes  but  a  very  short  reference  to  it  in  his 
autobiography,  which  is  as  follows: — 

March  23,  1835 — Office  corner  Lexington  &  Courtland. 

"Thursday,  April  24,  1835 — Mr.  Lucas  stated  when  my 
"Justice  Practice"  was  finished,  he  would  give  me  his  note 
at  twelve  months,  for  $375.00,  being  fifty  cents  per  copy 
on  an  edition  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  copies.  (The  sec 
ond  edition  I  will  now  set  to  in  good  earnest)." 

There  are  many  other  references  to  his  working  upon  this 
book  from  time  to  time.  It  was  in  fact  a  most  valuable 
practical  book  and  is  spoken  of  at  different  times  by  mem 
bers  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  very  high  terms.  In  writing 
to  the  present  Clerk,  C.  C.  Magruder,  of  the  Court  of  Ap 
peals,  as  to  Mr.  Latrobe's  record,  I  have  from  him  October 
28,  1915: 

"The  data  you  have  should  make  a  very  valuable  and  in 
teresting  sketch  of  Mr.  Latrobe.  His  'Justice  Practice' 
would  seem  to  be  glory  enough  for  one  man,  and  genera 
tions  have  profited  by  it." 

In  the  case  of  Hyde  vs.  Greuch,  in  62nd  Md.,  page  582, 
Judge  Miller,  delivering  the  opinion  of  the  Court  of  Ap 
peals,  uses  the  following  language,  referring  to  peace 
warrants: 

"The  mode  of  obtaining  the  warrant,  and  all  the  proceed 
ings  thereon,  are  clearly  stated  in  that  excellent  book,  La 
trobe's  Justices'  Practice,  ch.  16.  Simple  and  plain  forms 
for  the  oath,  the  warrant,  the  commitment,  the  recogni 
zance,  and  the  release,  are  there  given,  and  these  are  ac- 


420  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

companied  with  specific  directions  as  to  the  general  mode 
of  procedure,  so  that  the  forms  can  be  easily  adapted  to 
the  circumstances  of  each  case  as  it  arises.  These  are  so 
well  known  to  the  magistracy  of  the  State,  and  have  been 
so  long  in  use,  that  we  are  unwilling  to  sanction  any  modi 
fication  of  them,  or  to  introduce  in  their  stead  the  more 
minute  and  elaborate  forms  set  out  in  1  Chitty's  Genl.  Pr. 
679,  which  have  been  adopted  in  England  from  the  com 
mon  law,  and  the  construction  given  by  the  English  courts 
to  the  Statute,  34  Edw.  Ill,  ch.  1.  It  is  proper  to  observe, 
however,  that  the  forms  found  in  Latrobe's  Justice  must  be 
followed  in  every  substantial  particular.  Any  material 
omission  or  substantial  departure  therefrom,  especially  in 
regard  to  the  oath  and  the  warrant,  will  vitiate  the  whole 
proceeding." 

Again  in  his  journal  on  May  6,  1830: 

"Sent  by  Robert  Purviance,  a  copy  of  Justice  of  Peace 
and  Practical  Reading  Lessons.  Justice  of  the  Peace  for 
Peter  Latrobe,  Practical  Reading  Lessons  for  Charles 
Latrobe." 

In  a  letter  from  Peter  Latrobe,  March  6,  1832,  in  ac 
knowledging  receipt  of  the  copy  he  says: 

"I  must  not  forget  to  return  my  thanks  for  the  copy  of 
Latrobe's  Justice  Practice.  A  friend  of  ours,  the  private 
Secretary  of  the  late  Chancellor  Eldon,  looked  at  it  with 
some  discrimination  and  seemed  to  approve  it  much — and 
has  already  recommended  two  clients  who  had  business  in 
the  United  States  by  all  means  to  report  to  your  office." 

In  the  memorial  meeting  which  took  place  in  1891,  a  re 
port  made  by  the  Committee  appointed,  Henry  Stock- 
bridge,  Bradley  T.  Johnson  and  Clayton  C.  Hall,  is  as 
follows: 

"He  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  gave  to 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  421 

the  world  the  book  which  has  been  for  more  than  half  a 
century  the  sole  guide  to  the  practice  of  the  law  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  the  demand  for  which 
has  required  him  to  prepare  edition  after  edition.  In  1889, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-six,  he  revised  the  Eighth  Edition." 

I  think  the  statement  that  he  held  the  office  of  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  is  a  mistake. 

MASONRY 

"I  resume  my  memoranda  after  long  intervals,  and  look 
carefully  over  the  index  I  have  made  as  I  go  along,  lest  I 
should  repeat  (not  unlikely  at  my  time  of  life)  what  I  have 
already  said.  I  do  not  find  anything  about  my  connec 
tion  with  masonry  in  my  index.  I  was  induced  to  join  the 
order  by  the  example  of  my  then  intimate  friend,  and  after 
wards  brother-in-law,  Dr.  Rich.  S.  Stuart,  who  was  at  the 
time  Master  of  Winder  Lodge,  No.  77,  a  new  lodge,  com 
posed  of  the  cleverest,  they  thought  themselves,  of  the 
craft.  At  all  events,  they  were  associates,  and  were  called 
by  members  of  other  lodges  a  "silk  stocking  set."  The 
lodge  has  long  since  gone  out  of  existence.  I  became  mas 
ter  of  it,  and  was  reputed  "bright."  Certainly,  it  inter 
ested  me  much,  and  as  I  was  interested  at  the  same  time  in 
Colonization,  I  attempted  to  make  masonry  aid  in  the  mat 
ter  of  funds  for  the  Colonization  Society.  I  prepared  a 
circular,  got  the  lodge  to  adopt  it  and  vote  $20,000  to  the 
Colonization  cause,  and,  sending  the  circulars  around,  other 
lodges  followed  the  example  of  Winder  Lodge,  and  several 
hundred  dollars  were  collected,  I  believe.  But  the  idea 
would  not  take  root  well.  The  thing  had  its  day,  a  very 
short  one,  and  died  out.  I  have  no  list  of  the  members  of 
our  lodge,  but  recall  some  of  the  names,  Dr.  Stuart,  Frank 
Davidge,  a  clever  gentleman,  a  man  of  literary  taste,  and 


422  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

who  would  but  for  his  preferences  for  literature,  have  made 
a  clever  lawyer.  Jesse  Willis,  one  of  the  handsomest  men 
in  Maryland,  a  merchant.  Wm.  Adus  and  his  brother 
Thomas,  Fred  Dugan,  James  Rayborn,  Charles  Howard  of 
Samuel  and  others,  whose  names  I  have  forgotten,  made  a 
clever  association.  I  remember  that  when  the  cornerstone 
of  the  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  was  to  be  laid  by  the  Masons,  and  a 
procession  was  to  accompany  them,  we,  of  Winder  Lodge, 
fancied  it  would  be  infra  dig  to  trudge  through  the  dust  to 
the  fields  beyond  Gwynns  Run,  which  was  selected  as  the 
place  where  the  stone  was  to  be  deposited.  But  a  knot  of 
us,  finding  ourselves  before  the  Masonic  Hall,  became  im 
bued  with  the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  and  putting  on  our 
aprons  we  joined  the  others.  As  the  youngest  lodge  we 
headed  the  procession,  and  as  I  was  made  the  "Tiler"  for 
the  occasion,  I  led  the  march,  with  a  drawn  sword  in  my 
hand,  little  thinking  of  the  active  part  I  would  take  in  sub 
sequent  years,  in  the  affairs  of  the  Company.  I  afterwards 
joined  Phoenix  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  and  in  due  course 
became  its  highest  priest,  and  still  have  among  my  papers 
the  eulogy  I  pronounced  on  one  of  my  predecessors  in  the 
office. 

"Not  satisfied  with  being  highest  priest  of  a  Chapter,  I 
embarked  in  Scottish  Masonry,  and  was  advanced  as  far 
as  the  32d  degree,  adopting,  as  I  have  since  been  reminded, 
'Perseverance'  as  my  motto.  I  had  written  'ambition'  in 
the  record  after  my  name,  but  this  was  objected  to,  and  I 
changed  it  for  the  other  word.  In  those  days  I  suppose  I 
was  ambitious.  I  cannot  now  recall  the  feelings  which  actu 
ated  me.  I  only  remember  that  I  worked  the  work  of  those 
days  as  they  came  around,  anxious  to  succeed,  but  with  no 
sentiment  for  strife,  or  desire  to  get  above  others,  or  gratifica 
tion  in  doing  so.  It  is  said  of  some  men  that  they  mark 


.ND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  423 

out  a  plan  of  life  and  pursue  it  to  the  end.  I  have  not  been 
of  this  class.  Circumstances  as  they  arise  control  me,  and 
have  always  done  so.  My  father's  death  made  me  leave 
the  army.  Had  he  not  died,  I  would  probably  have  been 
an  architect,  if  I  had  not,  with  my  love  for  the  profession 
and  with  an  epaulet  on  my  shoulder,  preferred  remaining 
in  the  army.  I  have  often  wondered  why  I  have  so 
zealously  and  persistently  adhered  to  African  Colonization. 
I  never  expected  to  derive  reputation  from  my  advocacy. 
I  took  it  up  because  General  Harper  led  me  into  it — but  I 
never  planned  for  myself  advancement  to  any  position 
among  its  friends.  I  consulted  my  fancy  quite  as  much  as 
my  judgment.  When  I  had  gotten  up  the  Maryland  State 
Society,  I  made  prominent  men  its  principal  officers.  I  was 
but  its  Secretary.  When  years  went  by  and  I  had  only  to 
say  I  would  be  the  President,  and  as  I  did  the  work,  the 
place  was  suggested  to  me,  I  made  Colonel  B.  C.  Howard  the 
President,  and  when  he  resigned,  I  became  the  President 
without  work  or  solitication  of  my  own.  I  am  now  the 
President  of  the  National  Society.  But  I  never  intrigued 
for  the  place.  When  the  purchase  of  Cape  Pahnas  was  made, 
my  name  was  suggested  as  one  proper  to  be  perpetuated  in 
Africa,  but  when  I  prepared  the  map  I  placed  every  other 
name  upon  it.  Harper  I  called  the  principal  town,  out  of 
love  for  my  dead  preceptor.  Hoffman  Town  I  so  called, 
because  George  Hoffman  was  the  first  President  of  the 
State  Society.  Stuppand  Lake  was  called  by  me  after  a 
friend;  so  my  name  is  not  on  the  map,  though  I  do  believe 
some  of  the  Colonists  gave  it  to  a  straggling  village.  I  do 
not  say  this  now  in  any  arrogance  of  modesty,  or  to  show 
that  I  was  disinterested.  I  am  as  selfish,  I  suppose,  as  the 
run  of  men,  but  I  say  it  because  really  I  do  not  know  what 
has  been  my  leading  motive  now  that  I  am  from  the  grand 


424  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

climacteric  looking  back  on  seventy  years  of  life.  It  seems 
to  me  as  I  have  always  said,  that  I  have  been  doing  from 
day  to  day  the  day's  work,  and  drifting  through  life  as  cir 
cumstances  controlled  my  course.  But  this  is  rare  egotism, 
and  so  I'll  go  to  something  else." 

In  regard  to  Mr.  Latrobe's  connection  with  the  Masons, 
while  he  gives  a  very  short  account  of  his  association  with 
this  important  body,  in  looking  over  a  number  of  his  ad 
dresses,  we  find  that  he  delivered  the  address  at  the  laying 
of  the  corner  stone  for  the  new  Temple,  November  20,  1866. 
He  also  delivered  an  address  at  the  opening  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  Masons  of  Maryland,  May  8,  1871.  He  was 
eight  times  elected  as  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Managers 
of  the  Masonic  Temple. 

The  value  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  services  to  the  order  was 
recognized  by  the  Masons  as  shown  by  the  following  resolu 
tion  adopted  at  the  time  of  his  resignation  as  Chairman  of 
the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Masonic  Temple: 

"Report  and  Resolution  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Mana 
gers  of  the  Masonic  Temple  at  their  regular  meeting  held 
January  14,  1879: 

"The  Committee  appointed  to  draft  resolutions  expres 
sive  of  the  appreciation  of  the  'Board  of  Managers  of  the 
Masonic  Temple'  for  the  valuable  services  rendered  by 
their  late  Chairman,  the  Hon.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Past 
Grand  Master  of  Masons  of  Maryland,  respectfully  report 
the  following: 

WHEREAS,  the  Hon.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  for  eight  successive 
terms  the  Chairman  of  the  "Board  of  Managers  of  the  Masonic 
Temple,"  Baltimore  City,  having  by  the  zealous  course  he  has  pur 
sued  in  the  performance  of  his  official  duties  as  the  executive  head 
of  the  Board  over  which  he  presided  with  honor,  dignity  and  superior 
ability,  secured  the  respect  and  esteem  of  its  members,  and  merited 
the  gratitude  of  every  Mason  in  our  jurisdiction,  therefore: — 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  425 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  be  recreant  in  its  duty  if  it  did  not  in 
this  manner  recognize  the  results  which  our  late  Chairman's  official 
devotion  to  Masonry  has  produced  throughout  our  entire  jurisdiction, 
not  only  for  the  present,  but  for  the  future;  as  displayed  by  the  energy 
his  influence  has  inspired,  by  the  respect  for  the  institution  which  his 
intelligence  has  aroused,  and  the  active  agencies  he  has  awakened 
for  the  good  of  Masonry  in  Maryland  and  its  reputation  abroad. 

Resolved,  that  the  Secretary  of  this  Board  be  directed  to  incor 
porate  this  report  in  his  Minutes,  and  also  to  send  a  copy  of  the  same 
to  Past  Grand  Master  Latrobe. 

Respectfully  and  fraternally  submitted, 
F.  J.  S.  Gorgas,     1 
Wm.  M.  Isaac,     >•      Committee. 
Jacob  E.  Krebs,     J 
J.   H.   Medairy, 
Grand  Secretary." 

Mr.  Thomas  J.  Shryock,  the  present  Grand  Master  of 
the  Masons  in  Maryland,  has  called  my  attention  to  Mr. 
Latrobe's  record  as  a  Mason,  as  contained  in  the  history  of 
Freemasonry  in  Maryland  by  Schultz,  Fol.  4,  Page  717,  which 
gives  in  substance  the  following  additional  facts  in  reference 
to  Mr.  Latrobe's  connection  with  the  Order. 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  initiated  in  the  Winder  Lodge,  No.  77, 
of  Baltimore,  on  January  26,  1825,  of  which  he  was  later 
elected  Master.  He  acted  as  Tiler  of  his  Lodge,  in  the  lay 
ing  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
in  1828.  About  this  time  he  was  exalted  in  Phoenix  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  No.  7,  serving  as  High  Priest  in  1829  and 
1830.  He  received  the  high  degrees  to  that  of  the  Royal 
Secret  in  Triple  Unity  Rose  Croix  Chapter  and  the  Council 
Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret,  that  existed  in  Baltimore  from 
1820  to  1826  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Consistory 
of  New  York.  The  degree  of  Honorary  Inspector  General 
33°  was  conferred  upon  him  in  1872  by  the  Supreme  Coun 
cil  of  the  Southern  jurisdiction.  For  a  number  of  years, 


426  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

owing  to  the  requirements  of  his  professional  engagements, 
he  had  retired  from  active  participation  in  Masonic  matters, 
but  in  1870,  at  the  unanimous  wish  of  the  brethren,  he  as 
sumed  the  duties  of  Grand  Master  and  was  continuously 
and  unanimously  reflected  until  1878,  when  he  declined 
further  service. 

There  is  a  further  statement  that  he  delivered  numerous 
public  addresses — among  which  may  be  mentioned  those 
delivered  at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stones  of  the  new 
Masonic  Temple  in  1866,  the  new  City  Hall  in  1867,  and 
the  new  Baltimore  Post  Office  on  November  21,  1882. 

AS  A  PAINTER 

In  Mr.  Latrobe's  Russian  experience  he  speaks  of  Madame 
Bartholomaie's  beautiful  hand,  of  which  he  had  a  model 
made.  His  admiration  of  hands  seems  to  have  existed 
very  early  in  his  life.  Among  his  papers,  his  first  effort  in 
drawing,  which  still  exists,  is  a  drawing  of  a  woman's  hand, 
here  reproduced — the  date  February  18,  1818.  He  was 
not  yet  fifteen  years  of  age  at  that  time.  The  only  other 
specimen  of  his  work  of  this  early  date  is  a  water  color 
representing  the  Light  House  at  the  entrance  of  New  Haven 
Bay — "Latrobe,  Cadet,  August,  1821."  Mr.  Latrobe  used 
whatever  talent  he  had  for  his  own  amusement,  and  in  a 
number  of  sketch  books  I  find  a  record  of  his  travels  in  this 
country  and  abroad.  Most  of  these  are  pencil.  Many  of 
them  are  water  colors.  Some  of  his  water  colors  are  said 
by  those,  who  are  capable  of  judging,  to  be  very  fair  pro 
ductions,  showing  talent.  At  least,  he  was  enabled  by  his 
pencil  and  brush  to  depict  places,  so  as  to  have  a  pleasing 
record  of  his  travels.  One  of  these  pictures,  a  water  color 
here  reproduced,  represents  the  landing  place  at  Three 
Rivers,  Canada,  in  1830,  showing  the  character  of  the  place 


DRAWN  BY  JOHN  H.B.  LATROBE 
In  his  15ih  year 


A  .a  .B.  VLHO\.  ^ 
irA  n\ 


\ 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  427 

at  that  time.  It  has  a  certain  historical  value.  The 
water  colors  of  Louisville,  Cincinnati  and  other  places  in 
1835  have  this  additional  value.  He  does  not  seem  to  have 
made  water  colors  of  any  places  in  Europe,  but  is  content 
with  pencil  sketches.  One  of  the  best  of  these  is  the  Wal- 
halla  on  the  Danube.  Walhalla,  the  temple  to  the  Great 
men  of  Bavaria,  looks  down  upon  the  Danube  — it  is  a  re 
production  of  the  Parthenon.  We  have  copied  it  in  the 
Temple  of  Fame,  in  New  York.  He  speaks  of  a  number  of 
designs  in  marble  made  by  him,  among  others,  the  "Kos- 
ciuszko"  monument. 

He  painted  in  water  colors,  and  had  a  studio  in  his  house 
at  "Fairy  Knowe, "  where  he  worked  in  the  early  or  im 
maculate  hours.  He  also  painted  in  oils.  He  made  some 
copies  of  paintings  which  are  fairly  good. 

He  painted  a  number  of  portraits,  among  others  his  father, 
B.  H.  Latrobe,  and  a  portrait  of  Mrs.  Latrobe  for  each  of 
his  children.  He  also  painted  a  portrait  of  himself  for  each 
of  his  children.  While  at  work  at  these,  he  asked  me  my 
opinion  of  the  likeness.  I  told  him  that  I  thought  he  had 
made  himself  look  much  younger  than  he  did  look  at  the 
time  the  painting  was  supposed  to  represent  him.  He 
retorted:  "Do  you  think  if  I  had  the  power  to  obliterate 
the  lines  that  now  scar  my  face,  I  would  not  do  so?  I  am 
treating  the  picture  as  I  would  my  own  face,  if  I  had  that 
power. "  He  was  not  like  Cromwell,  who  had  warts  on  his 
face,  and  when  asked  how  he  would  have  his  picture  painted, 
answered,  "Warts  and  all." 

The  following  correspondence  gives  evidence  of  the  in 
terest  Mr.  Latrobe  had  in  painting  and  painters. 


428  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"Philadelphia,  May  21,  1847. 
"J.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq. 

" Dear  Sir:— 

"I  have  postponed  writing  in  answer  to  yours  of  the  llth 
until  I  could  examine  a  copy  of  the  de  Solis  promised  me. 
I  have  seen  it  and  have  considered  the  subject  you  mention 
as  affording  an  excellent  general  design.  The  subject  admits 
a  great  variety  of  individual  expression — Cortez  and  Lopex 
you  mention — and  its  various  effects  upon  the  principal 
actors  to  the  scene — the  quiet  satisfaction  of  Sandoval,  the 
more  impetuous  expression  of  the  same  feeling  in  Alvarado. 
One  might  imagine  Bernal  Diaz  swelling  with  the  thought 
of  vengeance  and  conquest  of  the  heathen;  the  commoners 
of  the  camp,  a  portion  full  of  the  wild  Hurrah,  the  religious 
chorus  or  te  deum  of  others;  and  the  still  deeper  devotional 
exultation  of  others.  The  Indians  wonder  and  the  women 
make  all  that  is  needed  for  expression.  Then  the  material 
for  the  general  construction  of  the  picture  is  fine,  I  think 
as  far  as  picturesque,  &c.,  is  concerned.  The  salute  from 
the  vessel  on  the  lake  is  excellent,  and  the  distant  City  and 
the  mountains.  In  my  copy  of  de  Solis  is  a  view  of  the 
city  and  lake  that  will  be  of  much  service,  and  also  the 
Brigantines  and  the  best  pictures  of  Cortez  after  Titus  en 
graved  by  Virtue  I  have  ever  seen.  If  you  have  decided 
upon  it,  when  I  hear  from  you  I  will  begin  the  drawings. 
It  has  grown  upon  me  very  much  since  you  first  suggested 
it.  What  time  in  June  do  you  expect  to  sail  for  Europe? 

"Very  truly  your 

Obedient  Servant, 

P.  F.   Rothermel. 
I  will  still  continue  my  researches." 

Peter  Ford  Rothermel,  American  painter  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1817.  In  the  Americana  he  is  spoken  of 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  429 

as  being  a  painter  of  historical  subjects.    His  pictures  reveal 
a  fine  sense  of  color  and  a  power  of  dramatic  composition, 
which  are  not  common." 
A  letter  from  Robert  C.  Winthrop. 

"Washington,  May  17,  1847. 
"My  dear  Mr.  Latrobe: — 

"Your  note  came  duly  and  I  have  been  more  successful 
than  I  could  have  hoped.  I  enclose  a  note  from  Prescott, 
with  a  sketch  of  the  Brigantines.  You  may  have  the  note, 
too,  if  you  like,  as  an  autograph,  the  signature  and  post 
script  are  the  veritable  fist  of  the  almost  blind,  but  far- 
sighted  historian. 
"In  haste, 

Very  truly, 

Robert  C.  Winthrop." 
The  enclosure  reads  as  follows: 

"Boston,  May  18,  1848. 
"My  dear  Mr.  Winthrop: — 

"I  received  from  Mr.  Davis  the  note  of  Mr.  Latrobe, 
respecting  the  ancient  Spanish  vessels,  and  I  am  happy  in 
being  able  to  furnish  the  information  he  wants. 

"One  of  the  Spanish  translations  of  my  'Conquest  of 
Mexico'  contains  a  number  of  prints  purporting  to  have  been 
made  from  paintings  contemporary  with  the  Conquest,  or 
nearly  so.  One  of  these,  representing  the  landing  of  Nar- 
vaez,  has  two  vessels  in  it.  I  have  had  a  drawing  made  of 
them,  by  my  nephew,  Edward  Dexter,  which  I  herewith 
enclose,  and  I  will  trouble  you  to  send  it  to  Mr.  Latrobe. 
He  will  see  that  the  artist  will  have  to  make  but  little 
alteration  in  the  ships  he  has  now  painted,  and  this  chiefly 
in  the  rigging. 


430  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"I  have  seen  several  of  Rothermel's  pictures,  and  I  con 
sider  myself  very  fortunate  to  have  my  work  illustrated  by 
so  excellent  an  artist.  The  composition  is  very  effective 
and  his  brilliant  coloring  is  admirably  suited  to  the  rich  and 
picturesque  costume  of  the  Aztecs  and  the  Spaniards  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

"Mr.  Davis  gives  a  warm  report  of  his  doings  with  you, 
which  is  confirmed  by  Judge  Warren,  who  passed  last 
evening  with  us.  I  should  have  liked  very  much  to  share 
your  hospitality  with  them.  But  I  must  wait  till  a  more 
auspicious  dynasty  is  seated  on  the  throne,  when  I  trust  to 
see  you  still  occupying  the  high  place  which  all  agree  you 
fill  with  so  much  dignity. 

"Pray  commend  me  to  our  friends,  Holmes  and  Hilliarcl, 
and  believe  me, 

"Ever  faithfully  yours, 
Wm.  H.  Prescott. 

"Do  you  know  that  Circourt  is  on  a  mission  for  the  Pro 
vincial  Government  in  Berlin?" 

JOHN    P.     KENNEDY — S.      T.     WALLIS — POEM    DEDICATED    TO 

GREENMOUNT 

"  Close  to  my  office  in  the  old  Athenaeum  Building  was 
the  office  of  John  P.  Kennedy,  with  whom  I  was  on  terms 
of  intimacy.  The  room  I  occupied  opened  upon  a  yard 
in  which  was  a  spiral  stairway  that  formed  a  communication 
with  the  floor  on  which  Kennedy's  door  opened,  and  the  visits 
we  paid  to  each  other  were  frequent,  until  the  burning  of 
the  building  drove  us  to  seek  other  quarters.  Kennedy 
was  at  this  time  engaged  in  writing  'Swallow  Barn,'  and 
chapter  after  chapter  he  read  to  me  as  the  work  progressed. 
It  had  been  his  intention  to  adopt  for  its  name  'Hands 
Habines  Sketches,'  and  it  was  not  until  the  book  was  finished 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  431 

that  the  name  was  changed.  Those  who  have  read  the 
volume  will  notice  that  it  ends  with  a  life  of  Captain  John 
Smith.  This  was  owing  to  Kennedy  having  exhausted  his 
material  for  anecdotes  of  Indian  life  before  the  bulk  was 
obtained  that  was  necessary  to  give  the  respectability  of 
size  to  the  production.  Captain  Smith  was  a  makeshift. 
So,  too,  'Horseshoe  Robinson'  was  read  to  me  chapter  by 
chapter.  Here  the  names  of  many  of  the  personages  were 
changed.  Both  works  were  labored.  Portions  of  them  were 
often  rewritten.  It  was  not  so  with  'Rob  of  the  Bowl,' 
which  I  have  always  thought  had  more  genius  in  it  than 
either  of  the  others.  It  was  struck  off  at  the  heat.  Ken 
nedy  was  too  much  addicted  to  politics  and  literature  to 
make  a  distinguished  lawyer.  He  spoke  well  and  fluently, 
but  he  disliked  the  labors  of  the  profession.  Whatever  he 
did,  he  did  well,  but  it  was  pride,  not  fondness  for  the  work, 
that  urged  him  to  effort.  Full  of  general  information  of 
the  most  genial  temperament,  abounding  in  humor,  and 
most  apt  in  conversation,  no  man  was  better  calculated  to 
make  friends,  and  few  men  had  more.  He  was  more  of  a 
statesman  than  a  lawyer,  fonder  of  the  floor  of  Congress 
than  of  the  courtroom,  and  when  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  did  himself  great  credit. 

"As  a  political  writer  he  was  unsurpassed.  His  style, 
however,  was  graceful,  rather  than  powerful.  In  all  his 
writings  there  is  not  an  ill-timed  phrase.  But  there  are  few 
which  leave  a  memory  of  them  on  the  brain.  Still  his  way 
of  putting  things  was  strong,  and  his  style  was  especially 
attractive,  whether  in  'Rob  of  the  Bowl,'  his  best  novel, 
or  the  'Annals  of  Quodlibet,'  one  of  the  very  best  of  the 
political  satires  of  the  day.  My  last  literary  effort  for  pay, 
which  by  the  way  I  never  got,  for  I  never  asked  for  it,  was 
a  review  of  his  novels  published  in  the  'North  American.' 


432  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

It  was  a  labor  of  love  on  my  part,  and  reflects  I  think  his 
own  opinions  of  his  work." 

As  early  as  1827  Mr.  Latrobe  was  on  most  intimate 
terms  with  Kennedy,  who  writes  him  of  his  troubles.  Mr. 
Latrobe  makes  an  entry  in  his  diary  saying — "Had  a  long 
explanatory  talk  with  Miss  G.,  endeavoring  to  get  Kennedy 
out  of  a  scrape  caused  by  talking  when  he  should  have  held 
his  tongue."  He  writes  Nov.  20,  1833 — "Saw  Kennedy 
who  let  me  have  a  peep  at  the  manuscript  of  his  new  novel 
'Horseshoe  Robinson.'  I  promised  to  write  for  him  a  drink 
ing  song  to  go  into  it,  to  be  sung  by  one  of  his  Tory 
characters. " 

The  song  is  the  one  that  is  found  on  page  208,  the  first 
verse  of  which  is: 

You  may  talk  as  you  please  of  your  candle  and  book, 
And  prate  about  virtue  and  sanctified  look, 
Neither  priest,  book  nor  candle  can  help  you  so  well, 
To  make  friends  with  the  world  as  the  "Jolly  Bottle." 

Several  years  before  Mr.  Latrobe's  death,  I  was  paying 
him  my  usual  morning  visit  when  I  stated  that  in  reading 
the  "Virginians"  by  Thackeray,  I  was  surprised  to  find  that 
he  knew  something  about  the  local  scenery  about  Cumber 
land,  Maryland,  my  native  town;  that  I  was  not  aware  of 
any  book  from  which  he  could  have  obtained  the  local 
names,  and  I  was  sure  he  had  never  visited  Cumberland. 
Mr.  Latrobe  said — "You  have  found  the  chapter  that 
was  written  by  John  P.  Kennedy."  He  then  gave  me  the 
story.  I  had  him  write  it  out,  and  I  have  it  pasted  in  my 
edition  of  Thackeray.  I  told  the  story  to  one  of  the  editors 
of  Scribner's  I  think  it  was.  Mrs.  Ritchie,  Thackeray's 
daughter,  took  offense,  and  seemed  to  think  it  reflected 
upon  her  father's  memory. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  433 

I  tried  to  find  out  what  I  could  about  the  matter,  and  I 
here  insert  the  story  and  the  entries  in  Kennedy's  Journal, 
which  refer  to  it.  He  does  not  say  that  he  wrote  the  chapter, 
but  that  a  suggestion  was  made  that  he  should  do  so. 

That  Mr.  Latrobe  years  after  should  say  that  Kennedy 
told  him  he  wrote  a  chapter  in  the  "Virginians"  would  seem 
to  be  as  near  demonstration  as  one  could  get  some  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years  after  the  event. 

"January  31,   1884. 

"I  met  the  late  John  P.  Kennedy  after  the  publication 
of  Thackeray's  novel,  the  'Virginians/  and  while  we  were 
discussing  it,  he  said  that  he  had  written  one  of  the  chapters. 
He  was  in  Paris  with  the  author,  who  was  complaining  to 
Kennedy  that  he  had,  much  against  his  inclination,  to 
supply  his  publisher  in  London  with  copy  for  the  next  chap 
ter  of  the  book,  this  coming  out  in  numbers.  'I  wish  you 
would  write  it  forme,'  he  said,  half  jesting.  'Well',  was 
Kennedy's  answer,  'So  I  will  if  you  give  me  the  run  of  the 
story.'  More  was  said,  the  result  of.  which  was  that  Ken 
nedy  wrote  Chapter  4  of  the  second  volume,  which  explains 
the  local  accuracy  of  description  of  scenery,  with  which 
Kennedy  was  most  familiar,  and  which  Thackeray  had  never 
seen. 

Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe." 

Extract  from  Kennedy's  published  diary: 

"Paris,  Sept.  28,  1858. 

"Thackeray  calls  to  see  me,  and  sits  an  hour  or  two.  He 
is  not  looking  well.  He  tells  me  he  has  need  of  my  assist 
ance,  and  says  Heaven  has  sent  me  to  be  his  aid.  He  wants 
to  get  his  hero  from  Fort  Duquesne  where  he  is  confined  a 
prisoner  after  Braddock's  defeat,  and  to  bring  him  to  the 
coast  to  embark  for  England. 


434  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"'Now  you  know  all  that  ground,'  he  said  to  me,  'I 
want  you  to  write  a  chapter  for  me  to  describe  how  he  got 
off,  and  what  trail  he  made. ' 

"He  insists  that  I  shall  do  it.  I  give  him  a  doubtful 
promise  to  do  it,  if  I  can  find  time,  in  the  thousand  engage 
ments  that  now  press  upon  me,  on  the  eve  of  my  leaving 
Paris.  I  would  be  glad  to  do  it,  if  circumstances  will  allow. " 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  interested  in  what  is  known  as  Green- 
mount  Cemetery,  formerly  the  country  seat  of  his  friend 
and  patron  Robert  Oliver,  but  long  since  included  in  the 
limits  of  the  growing  city.  He  took  charge  of  the  dedica 
tion  ceremony.  The  following  is  a  letter  from  Kennedy 
at  the  time  in  Washington,  a  member  of  the  House: 

"My  dear  Latrobe: — 

"How  can  you  ask  me  to  contract  such  engagements  at 
such  a  time?  Write  for  the  Cemetery  quotha!  Dost  want 
to  put  me  in  it.  I'  faith  not  a  line  does  man,  woman  or  child 
get  from  me,  at  nearest,  before  October.  Here  is  a  fellow 
boring  me  to  get  an  autograph,  devil  take  him.  I  shall 
write  to  him  declining. 

"House  of  Rep. 
June  12,  1838. 

"Yours  in  the  midst  of  Clerk  Franklin  reading  a  long  bill, 

J.  P.  K." 

He  took  part  in  the  dedication. 

Two  other  letters  among  his  correspondence  with  Kennedy 
relating  to  a  picture  painted  by  Latrobe. 

"John  P.  Kennedy,  Esq. 

"Baltimore,  February  18,  1844. 

"Dear  Kennedy: — 

"  So  long  ago,  that,  if  a  lady  were  not  mentioned,  I  might 
almost  name  it  as  a  matter  which  happened  in  the  'olden 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  435 

time,'  I  made  a  promise  to  Mrs.  Kennedy  that  I  would,  in 
return  for  a  present  which  you  made  me  of  a  dozen  of  some 
prime  'old  rye,'  try  to  put  on  canvas  some  thing  to  remind 
you  both  that  a  brother  of  the  craft  of  the  lawyers  occasion 
ally  put  a  palette  on  his  thumb,  and  used  a  paint  brush, 
where  a  pen  was  the  more  appropriate  implement  of  his 
calling.  This  promise  has  at  length  been  performed;  and 
I  beg  your  acceptance  of  the  illustration  from  'Swallow 
Barn'  which  accompanies  this  note.  If  I  have  succeeded, 
with  the  aid  of  bristles  and  pigments,  in  conveying  even  a 
faint  idea  of  one  of  the  most  spirited  sketches  to  be  found 
in  the  writings  of  modern  authors,  the  merit  is  yours  not 
mine;  for  I  have  been  but  the  copyist  from  your  conception; 
and  any  similitude  between  the  painting  and  the  legend  is 
a  compliment  to  myself,  inasmuch  as  it  may  show,  that  I 
have  been  able  to  make  my  imagination  run  parallel  with 
yours. 

"I  am,  dear  Kennedy, 

"Most   truly  yours, 
JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE." 

"My  dear  Mr.  Latrobe: — 

"I  take  the  first  moment  at  my  command,  although  a 
week  behind  my  time,  to  thank  you,  both  for  Mrs.  K.  and 
myself,  for  your  spirited  sketch  of  Abe  in  his  winter  cruise 
to  the  wolf  trap.     It  is  a  most  acceptable  memorial  from 
artist  friend,  who,  in  either  character,  brings  so  many 
Peasant  inducements  to  be  remembered.     Such  a  distin- 
lished  debater  at  law,  such  a  dab  at  the  brush,  will  be 
regarded  hereafter,  as  something  of  a  prodigy  in  our  City, 
/here  Fame  is  so  scarce,  even  in  one  path.     I  shall  appertd  to 
lis  picture  a  certificate  that  the  wight  who  had  such  a 
wolfish  accomplishment  as  the  masterpiece  betrays,  was, 


436  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

in  fact,  a  thorough  going,  hard  pounding  juris-consult,  of 
no  little  repute,  and  did  actually  put  old  Burns — not  the 
poet,  though,  by  the  bye,  he  would  tackle  to  him  right 
manfully — old  Burns  in  the  shade,  with  a  still  more  erudite 
Justice  than  that  which  was  so  long  the  Glory  of  England, 
'Latrobe  's  Justice'  being,  as  the  proof  shall  show,  the  veri 
table  prose  of  the  artist. " 

"In  earnest,  I  think  the  painting  first  rate — not  dilettanti 
wise  (are  those  two  T's  in  the  right  place)  but  cognoscenti 
wise,  and  would  do  an  infinite  credit  to  a  man  who  had  never 
written  a  line  to  guide  any  'Dogberry'  upon  earth,  but  had 
lived  wholly  on  those  green  seas  and  feathery  sprays  and 
glancing  lights,  that  furnish  the  toy  ship  of  artist  life — worth 
more,  to  my  liking,  than  the  compounders  of  a  thousand 
statues  in  the  Lycurgus  school. 

"The  best  wish  I  can  return  you  for  the  token  of  friend 
ship  is  that  the  day  may  come  when  you  may  revel  over  a 
fresh  canvas  with  a  conscience  entirely  at  ease  on  the  score 
of  neglecting  no  duty  to  man  or  to  Heaven. 

"Yours  truly, 

J.  P.  Kennedy. 

"House  of  Rep.     March  8,  1844. 

"John  H.  B.  Latrobe." 

Another  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  friends,  a  lawyer  and  poet,  Mr. 
S.  Teackle  Wallis,  gave  his  services  in  the  dedication  of 
Greenmount  and  wrote  and  read  very  touching  verses : 

THE  FIRST  GRAVE. 

The  city  of  the  dead  hath  thrown  wide  its  gates  at  last, 
And  through  the  cold  gray  portal  a  funeral  train  has  passed, 
One  grave — the  first — is  open,  and  on  its  lonely  bed, 
Some  heir  of  sin  and  sorrow  hath  come  to  lay  his  head. 


PAINTED  BY  JOHN  H.  Jl.  LATROBE 

to  illustrate  the  Novel 

HORSE  SHOE  ROBINSON 

By  John  P.  Kennedy 


-. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  437 

Perchance  a  hero  cometh,  whose  chaplet,  in  its  bloom, 
Hath  fallen  from  his  helmet,  to  wither  on  his  tomb; 
It  may  be  that  hot  youth  comes — it  may  be,  we  behold 
Here,  broken  at  the  cistern,  pale  beauty's  bowl  of  gold. 

Mayhap  that  manhood's  struggle,  deplete  of  price  and  power, 
Hath  ended  in  the  darkness  and  sadness  of  this  hour; 
Perchance  some  white  haired  pilgrim,  with  travel  sore  oppressed 
Hath  let  his  broken  staff  fall,  and  bent  him  down  to  rest. 

But  stay  behold  the  sepulchre — nor  age  nor  strength  is  there; 
Nor  fame,  nor  price,  nor  manhood,  those  lagging  mourners  bear; 
A  little  child  is  with  them,  as  pale  and  pure  as  snow, 
Her  mother's  tears  not  dried  yet  upon  her  gentle  brow. 

The  step  that  tottered,  trembling,  the  head  that  faltered  too, 
At  the  faintest  sound  of  terror  the  infant  spirit  knew, 
The  eyes  that  glistened  tearful  when  shadowy  eve  came  on, 
Now  show  no  dread  of  sleeping  in  darkness  and  alone. 

And  why,  though  all  be  lonely,  should  that  young  spirit  fear, 
Through  midnight  and  through  tempest  no  shielding  bosom  near? 
Ere  the  clod  was  on  the  coffin,  ere  spade  had  cleft  the  sod, 
Bright  angels  clad  an  angel  in  the  raiment  of  their  God. 

Green  home  of  future  thousands;  how  blest  in  sight  of  Heaven 
Are  these  tender  firstlings,  that  death  thee  has  given; 
Though  prayer  and  solemn  anthem  have  echoed  from  thy  hill, 
This  first  fresh  grave  of  childhood  hath  made  it  holier  still. 

The  morning  flowers  that  deck  thee  shall  sweeter,  lovelier  bloom 
Along  the  spot  where  beauty  like  this  hath  found  a  tomb; 
And  when  the  evening  cometh,  the  very  stars  shall  keep 
A  vigil,  as  of  seraphy,  where  innocence  doth  sleep. 

Sweet  Hope !  that  when  the  slumber  of  thy  pilgrims  shall  be  o'er 
And  the  valley  of  death's  shadow  hath  mystery  no  more, 
To  them  the  trumpet's  clangor  may  whisper  accents  mild, 
And  bid  them  wear  the  garlands  that  crown  this  little  child. 


438  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

ME.  LATROBE  AS  A  POET 

It  was  much  in  vogue  in  the  early  days  of  Mr.  Latrobe's 
life  to  write  verses.  It  was  considered  a  part  of  one's 
education.  "To  drop  into  poetry,"  as  Silas  Wegg  puts  it, 
was  much  more  common  than  it  is  today.  Silas,  in  response 
to  Mr.  Boffin's  inquiry  when  starting  out  upon  his  education 
al  pilgrimage  with  Wegg  as  a  leader,  is  informed  "it  will 
come  dearer,"  for  when  a  person  comes  to  grind  off  poetry 
night  after  night,  it  is  but  right  he  should  expect  to  be  paid 
for  its  weakening  effect  on  his  mind. 

Mr.  Latrobe  quite  frequently  wrote  verses  with  more  or 
less  merit.  He  made  a  habit  of  writing  a  verse  to  his  wife 
in  commemoration  of  each  birthday.  Sometimes,  of  course, 
this  was  omitted.  The  verses  to  her  on  her  seventy-first 
birthday  have  been  reproduced  in  chapter  X.  Some  of 
his  productions  of  this  character  he  published  for  private 
circulation,  and  a  small  book  containing  a  number  of  his 
verses  was  entitled  "Odds  and  Ends."  The  volume  con 
tained  comparatively  few  of  his  productions.  His  papers 
and  books  contain  a  large  number  of  them,  which  do  not 
appear  in  this  volume.  He  wrote  an  ode  to  be  read  at  the 
Sesqui-centennial  of  Baltimore,  and  a  number  of  other 
poems  read  upon  different  occasions. 

He  had,  as  Mr.  Cowen  puts  it,  the  faculty  of  expressing 
himself  in  graceful  lines.  He  writes  at  forty-one,  speaking 
of  the  days  gone  by: 

The  world  was  sunshine  then;  it  was  the  day 
To  scrape  acquaintances;  and  on  my  way 
To  pass  the  winter  with  my  old  grandsire, 
I  formed  a  dozen  friendships;  now,  alas, 
The  journey  hath  no  charm,  save  in  its  end. 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Joseph  Barry,  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia, 
January  20,  1881,  shows  that  in  him  he  found  a  genuine 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  439 

admirer  of  the  words  written  in  the  Sesqui-centennial  Ode. 
He  writes: 

"I  thank  God,  however,  that  my  dreams  are  as  vivid  as 
in  the  Spring  of  life,  when  I  had  higher  aspirations  and  higher 
hopes  than  I  have  now,  and  that  I  can  at  any  time  mount  my 
Pegasus,  and  say  of  myself,  in  your  own  fine  words: 

All  changed  is  here  my  sordid  garb, 

My  labor-hardened  hand, 
In  purple  robed,  with  gems  bediked, 
The  changeling  of  a  summer  night, 

I  am  lord  of  Fairyland, 
With  many  a  memory  of  the  past 

Recalled  at  my  command. 

"May  God  bless  you  for  the  words.  I  have  muttered 
them  a  hundred  times  since  I  received  the  ode,  greatly  to 
the  consternation  of  parties  who  happened  to  overhear  me, 
and  who,  no  doubt,  thought  the  fairies  had  taken  me  in 
charge." 

And  so  it  is,  if  we  wish  to  console  ourselves  for  disappoint 
ments  in  real  life.  Imagination  can  people  a  world  for  us, 
and  the  landscape  is  our  own.  Why  should  any  of  us  be 
held  down  to  a  sordid  life?  Those  who,  as  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  says,  carry  about  them  on  leash  facts  like  bull 
dogs,  ready  to  let  them  loose  to  tear  to  pieces  our  fabric, 
so  lightly  and  beautifully  constructed,  let  us  not  heed  them. 

Yet  dreams  to  us  are  a  storehouse  of  pleasures, 
Where  fancy  throws  light  on  the  shadows  of  life, 

Fills  one's  long  empty  purse  with  ne'er  failing  treasures, 
And  gives  us  an  angel  on  earth  for  a  wife. 

Pleasures  of  the  imagination,  the  happiness  of  life,  are  but 
a  dream  at  sixty-five. 

There  were  a  number  of  letters  received  by  Mr.  Latrobe, 
acknowledging  the  "Odds  and  Ends." 


440  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

One  from  Mrs.  L.  H.  Sigourney,  dated  June  5, 1865,  reads , 
"My  dear  Mr.  Latrobe: 

"Thanks  for  your  beautiful  book  of  poetry,  which  I  have 
perused  with  much  pleasure,  and  somewhat  to  the  annoy 
ance  of  those  around,  who  fancied  they  had  claims  upon  my 
attention,  not  being  able  to  lay  it  down,  until  it  was  finished. 
Moreover,  I  said  to  myself,  if  such  are  the  '  Odds  and  Ends,' 
what  must  be  the  exuberance  of  the  loom  from  which  the 
tapestry  emanates." 

Mrs  Sidney  Brooks  wrote  April  9,  1865: 

"In  hot  haste  I  wish  to  acknowledge  the  pretty  volume  of 
'Odds  and  Ends,'  which  announce  you  to  me  as  a  poet  at 
the  same  time.  Opening  it  casually,  I  found  a  song  which 
has  adorned  my  scrapbook  for  at  least  thirty  years,  the 
authorship  of  which  I  had  been  disposed  to  attribute  to 
one  of  my  own  admirers. " 

From  Mrs.  Botta  (formerly  Miss  Anna  C.  Lynch): 

"Accept  my  best  thanks  for  your  pleasant  little  volume, 
which  in  my  opinion,  has  but  one  defect;  and  that  is  its  brev 
ity.  You  leave  us  in  the  position  of  Oliver,  asking  for  more; 
and  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  if  your  portfolios  and 
desks  were  carefully  rummaged,  more  would  be  forthcoming. 
It  cannot  be  that  one  who  possesses  so  much  of  true  poetic 
fire,  and  whose  versification  is  so  faultless  and  flowing, 
has  written  so  little,  and  therefore  I  would  urge  Miss  Vir 
ginia  and  Lilly  to  institute  a  careful  search  for  hidden 
treasures  which  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  find. " 

Among  others  is  a  letter  from  Henry  W.  Longfellow,  who 
writes,  January  10,  1865. 
"My  dear  Sir: 

"I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  sending  me  a  copy  of  your 
poems  which  I  have  read  with  great  pleasure.  It  was  a 
happy  inspiration  of  your  daughter  to  think  of  me  as  one 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  441 

who  would  sympathize  with  you;  and  I  beg  you  to  thank  her 
for  it.  It  is  delightful  to  see  that  amid  the  cares  and  vexa 
tions  of  what  Claudian  calls  '  the  hoarse  clamoring  bar'  you 
still  find  tune  to  cultivate  such  flowers;  so  that  you  can 
always  appear  when  you  will  with  a  rose  in  your  button 
hole.  Perhaps  that  is  better  than  to  become  a  regular  mar 
ket  gardener,  like  some  one. 

"Very  pleasant  it  is  to  get  this  glimpse  of  your  inner  self, 
which  no  casual  meeting  or  chance  conversation  would 
have  given  me,  and  I  beg  you  to  accept  my  best  thanks  for 
the  revelation. 

"I  wonder  if  you  still  remember,  as  I  do,  that  agreeable 
dinner  at  Newport,  where  somebody  asserted  something 
about  somebody  else,  and  another  somebody  denied  it, 
when  you,  out  of  a  drawer  and  out  of  a  pocketbook,  drew 
simultaneously  two  printed  proofs  of  the  assertion. 

"With  great  regard  and  kind  remembrances  to  your 
daughter, 

Yours  very  truly, 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  FIREPLACE  HEATER — EXPERIENCES  IN  POLITICS — 
ARCHITECTURAL  EFFORTS — "FAIRY  KNOWE" — REV. 
PETER  LATROBE — COST  OF  LIVING  IN  1830 — NARROW 
ESCAPE  FROM  RUIN  BY  ROBBERY — STATE  OF  MARYLAND 
DEBT — TRIP  TO  EUROPE,  1847 

In  1846  there  was  granted  to  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  a  pat 
ent  for  improvement  in  stoves.  This  was  the  celebrated 
fireplace  heater.  Mr.  Latrobe  rather  refrained  from  taking 
to  himself  any  credit  for  this  very  useful  invention,  as  not 
being  in  accord  with  his  professional  life.  As  he  states  in 
his  memoranda,  the  case  of  Wilson  v.  Rosseau,  already  re 
ferred  to,  gave  him  a  reputation  in  what  was  known  as  pat 
ent  law,  and  he  was  engaged  in  many  cases  involving  the 
validity  of  patents.  He  remarks  that  he  is  afraid  that  this 
has  injured  the  reputation  which  he  had  at  one  time  of  being 
a  sound  lawyer.  Still  he  says,  "I  have  no  reason  to  resent 
this  for  the  returns  in  this  description  of  practice  are  good, 
and  I  have  had  my  share  of  it,  and  have  now  too  short  a 
time  to  practice  anything  new,  or  attempt  to  change,  even 
if  I  desired  it." 

Feeling  as  he  did  about  patent  law,  and  that  its  practice 
was,  to  a  certain  extent,  injurious  to  his  reputation  as  a 
sound  lawyer,  he  shrank  from  being  known  as  the  inventor 
of  a  stove,  believing  that  his  professional  reputation  would 
no  doubt  cease,  and  that  he  would  be  known  only  as  a 
maker  of  stoves.  We  all  have  our  weaknesses  and  this  was 
one  of  Mr.  Latrobe's. 

442 


HEATER  INVENTED  BY  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 
Known  as  the  Latrobe  Stove 


.a.  ."a  7i¥io\.  ^a. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  443 

He  told  me  once  that  the  way  he  came  to  be  interested 
in  the  question  was  through  a  complaint  made  by  his  wife, 
that  the  stoves  then  used  (the  "Franklin"  and  others)  occu 
pied  so  much  space.  He  said  he  could  remedy  this,  and 
would  make  a  stove  to  be  placed  in  the  fireplace.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  fireplace  heater,  a  copy  of  the  de 
sign  of  which  is  here  shown.  The  stove  serves  both  as  a 
stove  and  a  furnace;  the  hot  air  above  the  stove  being  col 
lected  and  carried  by  flues  to  the  rooms  above. 

Franklin  (Benjamin)  was  the  inventor  of  the  stove  known 
as  the  "Franklin,"  so  that,  as  an  inventor  of  stoves,  Mr. 
Latrobe  was  in  good  company.  The  fireplace  heater  be 
came  very  popular  in  Baltimore.  At  one  time  there  were 
in  use  about  300,000.  Mr.  Latrobe  once  said  to  me,  if  his 
pride  had  permitted  him  to  do  so,  he  could  have  realized 
more  money  from  this  invention  than  he  did  from  the  prac 
tice  of  law. 

Mr.  Latrobe  never  held  a  political  office.    He  writes: 

"I  omitted  to  mention  in  the  proper  place  my  nomina 
tion  for  the  legislature,  along  with  Jesse  Hunt,  a  prominent 
sadler  and  good  man,*  at  a  time  when  Baltimore  had  but  two 
delegates.  This  was  not  long  after  my  first  marriage.  It 
was  a  great  temptation,  but  I  had  the  sense  to  decline  it, 
and  stick  to  the  law.  I  had  been  a  stump  speaker  and 
harangued  multitudes — a  hot  Jacksonian.  A  nomination 
was  equivalent  to  an  election;  I  had  influence  enough  to 
have  Spear  Nicholas  nominated  in  my  place.  The  next 
year  I  exiled  myself  to  have  my  friend  C.  C.  Harper  chosen. 
I  never  made  a  wiser  determination  in  my  life.  This  was 
in  1830,  I  think. 

*  Jesse  Hunt  was  Mayor  of  Baltimore  at  the  time  of  the  Bank  Riots  of  1835. 
His  furniture  was  burned  by  the  mob. 


444  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

"  On  more  than  one  occasion  I  tried  my  hand  at  politics, 
but  I  had  no  natural  turn  that  way  and  my  efforts  never 
amounted  to  anything.  The  trade  was,  so  far  as  I  was 
concerned,  a  profitless  one.  Some  Governor,  I  have  for 
gotten  his  name,  made  me  a  director  in  the  Penitentiary, 
where  I  remained  for  a  year,  when  I  was  turned  out  on  a 
change  of  the  State  Executive.  With  this  exception  I 
have  not  been  an  office  holder  ever. 

"I  can  recollect  the  sequence  of  events  in  my  life  up  to 
my  thirtieth  year,  much  more  distinctly  than  the  order  of 
their  happening  in  the  next  thirty  years.  As  I  became  more 
and  more  immersed  in  business,  they  crowded  each  other 
so  fast  that  it  is,  I  now  find,  difficult  to  separate  them.  I 
shall  make  no  attempt  at  accuracy,  therefore,  in  this  respect 
hereafter." 

Of  architecture  he  says: 

"From  time  to  time  I  have  dabbled  somewhat  in  archi 
tecture;  and  here,  as  well  as  anywhere  else,. it  may  amuse 
my  children  to  learn  that,  in  addition  to  the  Kosciuszko 
monument,  I  designed  General  Harper's  monument,  John 
Berryman's  and  Mr.  Hall's,  all  in  Greenmount.  Also  the 
southern  porticos  of  the  Belvedere,  the  Baltimore  Cot 
tages  at  the  White  Sulphur,  the  gateway  at  Druid  Hill 
Park,  the  office  near  the  gateway,  the  Rotunda,  and  the 
addition  to  the  Old  Mansion.  The  details  of  these  struc 
tures  in  Druid  Hill  were  the  work  of  Mr.  Frederick,  except 
the  gateway  of  which  he  has  the  drawing  in  its  details  as  I 
made  it.  Painting  and  drawing  has  at  all  times  afforded 
me  great  pleasure,  but  I  need  say  nothing  of  this  to  my 
children,  for  they  know  all  about  it.  The  frontispiece  of 
my  house  in  Mulberry  Street  is  of  my  design. 

"In  these  years,  the  trustees  of  the  Baltimore  Cathedral, 
my  vis-a-vis  in  Mulberry  Street,  determined  to  build  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  445 

platform  of  the  west  portico  and  the  southern  tower,  and 
as  I  was  in  possession  of  my  father's  plan,  I  undertook  to 
superintend  the  work  which  I  did,  making  all  the  working 
drawings.  That  I  wanted  practical  knowledge  became  evi 
dent  when  the  steps  were  laid.  I  had  divided  the  height  by 
the  number  of  steps  to  get  the  depth  of  the  rises,  without 
allowing  for  the  space  to  be  filled  by  the  mortar,  nor  did  I 
find  this  out,  until  all  the  steps  save  two  were  laid.  Hence 
it  is  that  the  risers  of  the  two  uppermost  steps  are  less  than 
those  of  the  others. 

"My  ignorance  displayed  itself  in  another  way.  When 
I  designed  the  yoke  of  the  great  bell,  I  forgot  the  fact  that 
to  make  it  ring  the  journals  must  be  on  the  same  line  with 
the  tongue  of  the  clapper,  against  which  last  the  side  of  the 
bell  was  to  be  brought  when  the  rope  was  pulled.  Of  course, 
when  they  attempted  to  ring  the  bell  no  sound  came  from  it. 
In  vain  the  Irishman  pulled  at  it,  turning  it  over  almost;  it 
would  not  ring.  At  last  one  of  the  ringers  proposed  to  'exor 
cise'  it,  saying  'Shure,  the  divil  was  in  it.'  It  was  not  until 
the  next  day  I  discovered  the  defect,  and  I  believe  the  bell 
has  now  the  right  additions,  that  give  the  yoke  the  proper 
shape. 

"I  took,  at  this  time,  some  pains  to  make  a  finished  draw 
ing  of  the  portico  as  it  was  finished  many  years  after,  and  a 
clever  drawing  in  perspective  of  the  building  as  it  would  be 
when  completed.  This  I  had  framed,  and  presented  it  to  the 
Cathedral. 

"In  18 —  I  accompanied  Mr.  Thomas  Swann,  then  presi 
dent  of  the  B.  &  O.  Railroad  Company  to  Richmond,  Vir 
ginia,  when  I  by  mere  accident  had  something  to  do  with 
the  choice  of  the  model  for  the  monument  to  Washington 
now  erected  there,  which  I  have  thought  well  worth  recording. 

"Among  other  gentlemen  who  were  polite  to  me  was  Mr. 


446  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Ritchie,  the  son  of  the  well  known  editor  of  the  Richmond 
Inquirer.  And  among  others  of  the  sights  which  I  saw  un 
der  his  auspices  was  the  Capitol.  In  one  of  the  rooms  that 
we  visited  was  a  collection  of  models,  offered  in  competition 
for  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Washington,  which  the 
Legislature  had  determined  to  erect  if  it  could  agree  upon 
a  design.  There  were  any  number  of  obelisks,  pyramids, 
broken  columns,  and  the  like,  not  one  of  which  seemed  to 
be  suitable,  nor  did  I  wonder  at  the  difficulty  of  choosing  be 
tween  them.  Nothing  was  easier  than  to  pronounce  the 
whole  lot  unworthy  of  the  occasion,  and  we  were  about 
leaving  the  room,  when  I  saw  on  a  window  seat  something 
in  plaster  which  attracted  my  attention,  and  I  called  Mr. 
Ritchie  to  look  at  it.  It  was  very  small,  not  more  than  a 
foot  in  height,  but  it  represented  accurately  the  idea  that 
had  been  fully  developed  in  the  existing  monument — Wash 
ington  on  horseback,  surrounded  by  pedestrian  figures  rep 
resenting  the  great  Virginians  who  were  his  contemporaries. 
It  struck  me  at  once  that  it  was  the  thing  wanted,  and  I 
expatiated  at  length  upon  what  seemed  to  me  to  be  its 
incontestable  merits.  I  remember  we  became  quite  ve 
hement  and  that  I  succeeded  in  getting  Mr.  Ritchie  to  call 
Mr.  Munford,  connected  with  the  Legislature  in  some  way, 
if  I  recollect,  to  hear  what  I  was  saying.  This  set  me  off 
again,  and  in  the  end  I  made  converts  of  both  gentlemen, 
and  Mr.  Ritchie  asked  me  to  put  my  speech,  for  it  became 
a  speech  in  the  end,  on  paper.  This  I  at  first  declined  to 
do.  I  was  engaged  in  arguing  a  case  before  a  Committee 
of  the  Legislature  in  regard  to  the  route  of  the  B.  &  0. 
Railroad  in  Virginia,  about  which  the  members  of  the  house 
and  senate  were  as  much  divided  as  they  were  about  the 
Washington  monument,  and  I  told  Mr.  Ritchie  that  if  I 
took  part  in  the  discussion  I  might  prejudice  the  matter 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  447 

which  I  had  come  to  Richmond  to  advocate.  He  declared 
most  solemnly  that  he  was  indifferent  to  my  name — all  he 
wanted  was  my  argument.  Relying  on  him,  I  addressed 
him  a  letter,  explaining  my  views  at  length,  and  arguing 
the  adoption  of  the  little  plaster  model  by  the  legislature 
signing  my  name  as  I  would  do  to  an  ordinary  letter.  What 
was  my  mortification  the  next  day  to  see  my  letter,  signa 
ture  and  all,  in  the  Richmond  Inquirer,  and  to  hear  before 
night  that  I  was  thoroughly  abused  for  interfering  in  a 
matter  which  I  had  nothing  to  do  with.  Whether  the  loss 
of  my  case,  which  followed,  had  anything  to  do  with  my 
aesthetic  effort  on  this  occasion,  I  do  not  know. 

"Now  it  so  happened  that  there  was  on  the  legislature, 
from  Botecourt  County  I  think,  a  cousin  to  my  wife,  Mr. 
Nathaniel  Claiborne,  a  young  man  of  handsome  presence 
and  remarkable  eloquence,  who  at  once  called  to  see  me, 
and  got  'crammed'  by  me  with  the  material  for  a  speech, 
or  indeed  many  speeches.  He  was  just  one  of  those  men 
who  carry  things  by  the  impetus  of  their  manner  and  their 
personal  magnetism,  nor  did  he  stop  in  season  or  out  of 
season  until  the  law  was  passed  which  adopted  the  design. 
The  friend  of  Mr.  Crawford,  the  sculptor  in  Richmond,  was 
Mr.  Conway  Robinson,  at  whose  house  I  dined  a  few  days 
afterwards  with  the  artist  himself.  Subsequently  I  sent 
to  Mr.  Crawford  tracings  of  my  father's  study  from  the 
life  of  Patrick  Henry,  taken  from  one  of  his  sketch  books 
in  1796.  Whether  but  for  my  agency  in  the  business,  Vir 
ginia  would  have  erected  an  obelisk  or  a  column,  I,  of 
course,  cannot  say.  Crawford's  model  may  have  found  its 
way  from  the  corridor  seat  into  the  brains  of  the  members. 
Still  the  facts  were  as  I  have  here  stated  them,  and  I  have 
always  in  a  great  way  taken  to  myself  some  credit  for  di 
recting  public  taste  on  this  occasion  into  a  proper  channel." 


448  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Mr.  Latrobe  met  his  English  cousins  while  on  a  visit 
abroad.  Charles  J.  Latrobe  had  visited  him  in  Baltimore. 

"While  in  London  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  my  first 
cousin,  the  Rev.  Peter  Latrobe,  who  had  succeeded  his 
father  as  senior  Bishop  of  the  Moravian  Church,  an 
admirable  gentleman,  a  Christian,  and  a  man  of  learning 
and  accomplishment.  He  introduced  me  to  Lord  Bexley, 
who  had  known  my  father  and  was  now  a  very  aged  man. 
His  daughters,  the  two  Misses  Vansettent,  were  present, 
fine  looking  women,  but  the  most  imposing  person  of  the 
establishment,  by  far,  was  the  porter  at  the  front  door  who 
admitted  us — one  of  the  handsomest  men  I  ever  saw,  who 
looked  as  if  he  ought  to  have  been  a  Duke  at  least,  must 
have  weighed  250  or  300  pounds,  was  dressed  in  purple 
velvet  and  satin  bow  and  wore  small  clothes,  and  had  calves, 
ye  Gods!  what  calves. 

"My  maternal  grandfather  has  been  mentioned  by  me  in 
the  commencement  of  this  letter,  but  I  have  said  nothing 
of  my  grandfather  on  my  father's  side,  whose  authenti 
cated  claim  to  a  descent  from  the  historical  family  of  the 
Bonevals  of  France  was  a  preliminary  to  the  marriage  of  my 
Uncle  Frederick  with  the  Baroness  Stackelberg,  of  Dorpat, 
Livonia.  The  ancestor  who  left  France  was  a  Huguenot, 
who  is  said  to  have  left  his  native  land  for  a  God  that  he 
never  knew — in  other  words,  though  a  Huguenot  he  was  not 
a  religious  man,  in  the  sense  of  many  others.  He  went  to 
Holland,  became  attached  to  the  Prince  of  Orange  and 
accompanied  him  to  England,  where  he  was  wounded  at 
the  Battle  of  the  Boyne.  I  am  not  an  accurate  genealo 
gist,  as  perhaps  I  ought  to  be,  and  it  may  have  been  the 
father  of  the  wounded  officer,  who  emigrated  to  Holland. 
My  grandfather  was  a  friend  of  Count  Tingendorff,  and  be 
came  attached  to  the  Moravian  Church,  in  which  he  rose 


CO  A  T  OF  ARMS  OF  THE  LA  TROBES 


^o  ^uslK  TO  t  KOO 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  449 

to  distinction,  and  his  name  is  held  in  great  esteem  by  all 
the  members  of  that  congregation.  I  wish  I  could  be  more 
accurate  here.  While  I  am  on  the  subject,  I  may  as  well 
state  the  tradition  as  regards  my  coat  of  arms.  Three 
escallop  shells  on  a  blue  bar  across  a  white  shield.  The 
crest  a  hand  holding  an  anchor.  The  hand  and  forearm  issu 
ing  from  clouds,  motto,  tutto  si  fa.  The  origin  of  this  coat 
is  said  to  have  been  as  follows :  A  remote  ancestor,  going  as 
a  man  at  arms  to  the  Crusade  indicated  by  the  shells,  bore 
himself  bravely,  was  knighted,  and  on  his  return  to  Italy 
had  his  arms  blazened  by  the  heralds  there.  A  simple 
shield,  three  escallop  shells,  and  the  Italian  motto,  "Noth 
ing  is  impossible."  Religion  ran  in  the  family,  it  would 
seem.  The  hand  and  arm  issuing  from  clouds  and  the 
emblem  of  hope  are  very  religious  in  their  meaning. 

"No  one  knows  better  than  myself  that  if  I  am  unworthy 
of  my  ancestry,  it  is  not  because  they  have  not  set  me  a 
good  example.  On  my  father's  side,  they  were  brave, 
honest,  true  men,  and  if  three  of  my  children  won  credit  for 
bravery  in  the  late  war,  they  did  not  do  any  more  than 
illustrate  their  origin  behind  their  father  at  any  rate. 
'Courage  is  justly  held  to  be  entitled  to  first  place  among 
the  virtues,  for  without  it  no  other  virtue  is  safe.'  How  I 
could  have  turned  out,  had  I  pursued  my  early  career  of 
soldier,  none  can  tell.  I  think  I  should  have  hated  the 
necessity  of  going  into  battle,  but  I  do  not  think  I  should 
have  hesitated  physically.  I  rather  think  I  could  have 
gotten  fairly  through,  and  been  very  glad  when  it  was  all 
over.  On  one  or  two  occasions  I  have,  during  my  life,  been 
where  I  had  to  expose  myself,  once  in  boarding  a  vessel, 
supposed  to  have  a  mutinous  crew,  a  duty  that  devolved 
upon  me  as  Captain  of  a  military  company  at  that  time, 
and  when  I  hailed  the  ship  under  the  expectation  of  being 


450  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

shot  at,  I  was  extremely  uncomfortable,  but  managed  to 
keep  cool,  and  do  what  was  necessary.  Luckily,  no  one 
was  on  board  the  ship.  The  mutinous  sailors  had  taken 
the  boats  and  deserted.  I  make  this  digression  because  I 
have  often  thought  about  what  constitutes  bravery,  and 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there  are  so  few  cowards, 
because  there  are  so  few  who  are  brave  enough  to  run  away, 
or  otherwise  exhibit  their  actual  feeling  at  the  moment." 

This  account  of  Mr.  Latrobe's,  crediting  himself  with  an 
act  of  bravery,  when  in  fact  there  was  no  danger,  can,  I 
think,  be  duplicated  in  almost  every  man's  life. 

I  recollect  distinctly,  when  trying  to  determine  whether 
or  not  I  would  be  brave  under  certain  conditions,  that  I 
always  harked  back  to  an  experience  that  I  had  in  the  coun 
try,  with  a  degree  of  satisfaction  to  myself. 

My  wife  would  frequently  wake  up  during  the  night  and 
hear  a  noise,  or  violent  barkings  of  the  dog,  and  would  in 
sist  upon  my  getting  up  to  see  whether  there  was  anybody 
about,  and  as  soon  as  I  left  the  room,  in  which  she  and  the 
children  were,  I  would  hear  the  bolt  sprung  and  the  door 
locked.  She  said  it  was  her  duty  to  protect  the  children 
and  herself,  so  that  I  always  felt  that  there  would  be  no 
aid  from  this  source.  I  would  then  wander  about,  looking 
for  the  supposed  trouble. 

One  night,  the  dog  was  barking  fiercely,  so  rapidly  in 
fact  that  he  had  no  time  between  his  barks.  He  seemed 
to  be  pushed  up  against  the  kitchen  door.  I  went  to  the 
library  window,  clad  in  a  very  light  costume,  having  drawn 
on  my  pantaloons  and  put  on  my  slippers,  and  called  to  the 
dog.  He  started  off  towards  the  stable,  still  barking,  and 
came  back  barking.  I  then  went  downstairs,  and  went  out 
and  followed  him  to  the  stable,  which  was  some  distance  from 
the  house.  He  then  seemed  to  lose  all  interest  in  the  cause 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  451 

of  the  trouble.  As  I  started  to  return  to  the  house,  I  saw, 
not  very  far  from  the  path  down  which  I  had  come,  the  fig 
ure  of  a  man,  as  I  supposed.  It  was  a  dim  moonlight  night, 
and  I  did  not  have  on  my  glasses,  but  I  was  sure  that  a  man 
was  standing  there.  I  had  no  weapon,  except  a  pruning 
knife,  and  I  debated  whether  I  should  go  after  the  man,  or 
whether  I  should  go  to  the  next  door  neighbor  for  help.  I 
concluded,  fortunately  for  myself,  that  it  was  better  to  get 
after  the  man,  because  I  felt  pretty  sure  that  if  he  saw  me 
coining  he  would  run  away,  so  I  started  after  him,  having 
opened  my  knife  with  great  difficulty.  Much  to  my  sur 
prise  and  disappointment,  he  did  not  run,  but  I  went  on 
until  I  came  within  five  or  six  feet  of  this  object,  when  I 
saw  that  it  was  my  bathing  suit  hung  by  the  neck  near  a 
tree,  and  that  the  wind  had  inflated  it,  and  it  had  the  ap 
pearance  of  a  man's  figure.  My  heart  was  beating  with 
great  rapidity,  because  I  expected  the  next  moment  to  be 
in  a  death  grapple.  It  was  unquestionably  this  figure  that 
alarmed  the  dog.  When  he  passed  it  he  saw  his  mistake 
and  took  no  further  notice  of  it,  not  wanting  to  admit  that 
he  had  been  making  the  noise  for  nothing.  But  I  con 
gratulated  myself  that  I  had  not  gone  to  my  friend,  Ruther 
ford,  for  help,  for  I  never  would  have  gotten  over  the  story, 
that  I  had  called  for  help  against  my  own  bathing  suit, 
and  I  credited  myself  with  courage,  inasmuch  as  I  should 
have  acted  in  that  way  if  it  had  been  a  real  danger;  just  as 
Mr.  Latrobe  credits  himself  with  his  bravery  in  going  upon 
a  ship  in  which  there  was  nobody  to  resist  him. 

I  merely  write  this  to  show  how  prone  we  all  are  to  pat 
ourselves  on  the  back  for  virtues  which  we  may,  or  may 
not  possess,  but  which  we  are  all  ready  to  attribute  to  our 
selves  on  very  slight  foundations. 


452  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

DESCRIPTION  OF  MR.    LATROBE'S   COUNTRY   HOME 

"I  have  already  more  than  once  skipped  from  place  to 
place  in  my  life  in  these  memoranda,  which  unquestionably 
have  nothing  of  the  Lucidus  ordo;  and  their  want  of  con- 
secutiveness  is  owing  no  doubt  in  some  degree  to  my  mem 
ory  in  resuming  my  pen  from  time  to  time  during  the  last 
three  years.  Just  now  I  am  writing  on  the  third  of  July  at 
'Fairy  Knowe,'  my  country  residence,  and  a  word  or  two 
as  to  this  one  of  my  possessions  may  not  be  uninteresting 
to  those  that  will,  I  hope,  continue  as  my  descendants  to 
possess  the  very  lovely  spot  which  has  grown  to  its  present 
beauty  from  the  end  of  the  spur  of  a  Chestnut  ridge  over 
looking  the  Patapsco,  where  this  stream  breaks  through  the 
primitive  rock  to  wend  its  way  to  the  Chesapeake  through 
alluvial  lands. 

"My  wife  was  an  invalid  after  a  year  or  so  of  married 
life,  and  I  took  her  every  summer  to  the  White  Sulphur 
Springs,  where  I  immediately  became  the  owner  of  a  cot 
tage,  which  after  a  plan  of  my  own  had  many  innovations, 
and  the  row  used  to  be  known,  and  perhaps  still  is  known, 
as  Baltimore  Row.  One  year,  1840  or  1841,  she  was  not 
strong  enough  to  take  the  journey  to  Virginia,  and  we  ob 
tained  quarters  at  the  Relay  House,  on  the  B.  &  0.  R.  R. 
Here  she  improved  in  health  so  much,  that  I  determined  to 
have  a  cottage  built  on  the  present  site,  which  burnt  down  in 
1850  and  was  replaced  by  the  present  mansion,  and  hence 
my  ownership  of  as  pretty  a  place  as  there  is  in  Maryland. 
It  is  indebted  for  its  name  to  my  wife.  A  dozen  were  pro 
posed  and  she  fixed  on  its  present  title.  'Fairy  Knowe'  is 
the  place  where  the  catastrophe  of  Old  Mortality  is  made 
to  take  place.  The  predecessor  of  the  present  dwelling 
burnt  down  in  the  last  week  in  May,  1850,  I  think,  in  the 
middle  of  the  day.  Nothing  was  left  standing  but  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  453 

stack  of  chimneys  to  greet  me,  when  I  rode  on  horseback 
from  Baltimore  on  hearing  of  the  fire,  a  sorely  tired  and  be- 
mired  equestrian.  There  was  a  crowd  on  the  land  whom 
I  set  to  work  at  once  to  clean  up  the  ground;  the  chimney 
stack  was  toppled  over,  and  things  made  presentable  by 
sundown.  I  sent  to  town  for  an  architect,  and  he  came  the 
following  day,  Sunday.  We  had  a  consultation  in  the  sum- 
merhouse,  and  determined  upon  a  plan.  On  Monday  I  had 
a  superintending  carpenter,  and  the  cellar  was  begun,  and 
without  going  into  details  the  present  dwelling  was  erected 
in  fifty-four  working  days,  papered,  supplied  with  water, 
gas,  speaking  tubes,  and  all  the  modern  arrangements  for 
comfort.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  home  is  in  the 
general  shape  of  an  L,  63  feet  front,  33  feet  on  one  side,  and 
54  on  the  other,  with  two  stories  of  twelve  feet,  and  one  of 
nine,  this  was  something  of  a  feat,  at  least  so  considered  at 
the  time.  The  material  is  of  wood,  inch  weatherboarding, 
brick  nogged,  and  at  the  end  of  25  years  without  a  crack. 
For  seven  years  we  lived  at  Fairy  Knowe  all  the  year  around, 
from  1857  to  1863. 

"  'Fairy  Knowe'  cannot  be  spoken  of  with  fairness,  with 
out  reference  to  Ben  the  gardener.  Ben  Barclay,  or  Barck- 
edge,  was  employed  as  an  assistant  to  a  gardener  that  I 
had  and  who  was  a  sorry  fellow  that  I  had  to  part  with. 
When  he  left  I  was  at  a  loss  for  his  successor,  and  as  a  pis 
aller  took  Ben  on  trial,  and  he  has  been  with  me  ever  since. 
He  came — a  tall  boy  who  had  been  at  the  counter  of  a  coun 
try  grocery.  He  married  in  my  service,  and  is  now  the 
father  of  eight  children,  and  an  honester,  truer,  worthier 
man  does  not  live.  He  deals  with  the  place  as  his  own, 
keeps  it  in  prime  order,  and  is  the  very  right  hand  of  Mrs. 
Latrobe  and  myself. 

"I  had  not  sufficiently  investigated  the  water  supply 


454  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

when  I  made  my  original  puchase  of  five  acres,  afterwards 
enlarging  to  eighteen,  arid  the  well  that  I  had  dug  giving  out 
I  was  in  a  dilemma.  At  this  time  I  saw  in  an  English  paper 
the  advertisement  of  a  water  ram,  with  a  puff,  and  ordering 
one  I  put  it  up,  and  after  some  discouragement  got  it  to 
work.  This  was  in  '43  or  '44  I  think.  Since  then  it  has 
been  my  faithful,  untiring  servant,  without  repair,  or 
trouble  to  me.  It  was  the  first  put  up  in  America.  I  pub 
lished  a  detailed  account  of  it,  and  the  next  year  a  dozen 
patents  for  improvement  were  obtained.  Among  others 
who  heard  of  it  was  a  friend,  the  late  Judge  Glenn,  who  having 
seen  that  the  idea  originated  in  France  with  Montgolpher, 
sent  for  his  gardener,  whom  we  will  call  Mr.  Bujac,  to  be 
advised  of  the  value  of  the  new  machine.  Now  the  Judge 
knew  more  of  law  than  he  did  of  French,  so  he  said  to  his 
man  who  knew  no  English,  'Monsieur  Bujac,  connaissez 
vous  le — le — confound  the  name — Oh,  I  have  it — 'Monsieur 
Bujac,  connaissez  vous  le  mouton  masculin  de  Montgolpher.' 
'Vraiment,'  replied  the  Frenchman,  whose  cue  it  was  to 
know  everything,  'je  le  connais  bien,  et  c'est  tres  bon  mouton 
aussi.'  The  Judge  told  me  the  story,  and  when  I  told  him 
that  'be*lier'  was  ram  in  French,  and  the  name  of  the  machine 
'le  belier  hydraulique,'  he  laughed  as  heartily  as  I  did  as 
his  paraphrases. 

COST   OF   LIVING 

"By  this  time,  1831-32, 1  was  doing  well  in  my  profession. 
Had  long  since  paid  off  old  debts,  and  might  have  begun  to 
lay  by  money,  had  I  been  so  disposed,  but  I  was  not  dis 
posed  to  the  extent  I  should  have  been.  I  purchased  a 
home  on  Mulberry  Street,  opposite  the  Cathedral  then  under 
way,  agreeing  to  give  for  it  in  fee  when  completed  $8,500. 
I  managed  to  pay  $3,500  by  the  time  it  was  ready  for  occu- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  455 

paticn,  and  the  balance  I  borrowed  on  mortgage  at  six  per 
cent,  a  mortgage  which  I  ought  to  have  paid  off  by  a  sinking 
fund  out  of  my  profession,  but  which  I  let  remain  on  the 
property  for  years,  paying  the  interest,  and  spending  all  I 
made.  The  year  I  became  a  widower,  my  receipts  were 
$3500,  I  remember,  a  handsome  income  in  those  days,  when 
oak  wood,  I  see  by  a  memorandum  I  have,  was  $2.62^  a 
cord,  and  a  pair  of  fowls  cost  31£c,  50c  being  a  very  high 
price.  Everything  else  was  in  proportion." 

In  his  diary  I  find  the  following  protest  against  the  ex 
orbitant  charge  of  $3  for  consultation,  and  $2  per  visit 
made: 

"July  7,  1830.  R.  H.  Hall,  M.D.— As  executor  I  have  to 
decline  to  pay  the  bill  of  $57.00  for  medical  services,  as  the 
ordinary  fee  for  consultation  is  $2.00  and  $1.00  per  visit. 
You  have  charged  $3.00  for  consultation  and  $2.00  a  visit. 
I  would  not  be  justified  as  executor  in  paying  such  a  bill. 
This  I  know  from  my  own  experience  and  from  my  investi 
gation  of  the  matter  to  be  the  proper  charge. 

"  It  just  occurs  to  me  here  to  mention  a  narrow  escape  I 
had  from  ruin,  so  narrow  that  I  sometimes  almost  shudder 
to  think  of  it.  The  iron  safe  in  my  office  was  locked  with  a 
small  key  piece  that  fitted  into  a  handle,  which  without  the 
piece  was  useless.  This  piece  I  carried  in  my  pocketbook, 
and  on  one  occasion  lost  it,  and  had  another  made  like  it 
from  a  duplicate  belonging  to  my  son,  and  then  forgot  my 
loss.  I  had  living  with  me  then  an  Irishwoman  whom  we 
afterwards  discovered  to  be  a  thief,  and  who,  I  had  never 
doubted,  found  the  lost  piece,  and  having  seen  me  use  it, 
or  learned  its  use,  gave  it  to  a  confidant  who,  making  into 
my  office,  unlocked  the  safe,  and  took  from  it  a  large  pocket- 
book  in  which  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  keeping  the  securi 
ties  of  estates  of  which  I  was  trustee.  A  short  time  before 


456  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

the  robbery  there  was  in  this  pocketbook  coupon  bonds  of  a 
greater  amount  than  all  my  property,  and  for  which  I  was 
personally  responsible.  It  so  happened,  however,  that  only 
a  short  time  before  I  had  placed  all  the  securities  in  the  Safe 
Deposit  Company  of  which  I  had  just  become  a  stock 
holder,  leaving  the  pocketbook,  however,  in  its  usual  place, 
filled  with  deeds,  policies  of  insurance,  and  other  papers  of 
value  indeed,  but  all  of  which  could  be  replaced,  so  that  the 
robber  had  his  trouble  for  his  pains.  The  publication  of  the 
account  of  the  robbery  was  not  a  bad  advertisement  for  the 
Safe  Deposit  Company  which  was  then  just  established. 

"I  ought  to  mention  now  that  the  only  coupon  bond  in 
the  safe  was  one  for  $100  belonging  to  my  son  Stuart,  the 
price  in  part  of  his  Confederate  horse,  and  which  had  been 
put  into  the  safe  after  I  had  removed  the  valuables  from 
the  pocketbook.  This  disappeared  with  the  book.  He  re 
garded  it,  he  said,  as  a  punishment  for  having  put  the  rep 
resentative  of  a  good  Confederate  horse  in  the  custody  of 
the  United  States  5.20  bond." 

The  danger  and  narrow  escape  from  ruin  by  the  robbing 
of  his  safe,  which  Mr.  Latrobe  speaks  of,  reminds  me  of  an 
incident  that  occurred  in  his  office  while  I  was  there.  Few 
valuables  were  kept  in  the  safe  at  that  time.  There  was  an 
Inner  drawer  which  was  locked,  and  the  key  placed  in  Mr. 
Latrobe's  desk.  A  Mr.  Cumberland  (I  think  that  was  his 
name — he  was  a  mind  reader,  or  something  of  the  sort)  was 
giving  entertainments  in  Baltimore  at  the  time.  He  had 
some  difficulty  with  the  theatre  people  and  employed  Mr. 
Latrobe  to  solve  the  difficulty.  The  matter  had  been  ad 
justed,  and  Cumberland  came  to  the  office.  Mr.  Latrobe 
asked  him  whether  there  was  really  anything  in  his  mind 
reading.  Cumberland  said  'Yes.'  Mr.  Latrobe  said — 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  457 

'Can  you  demonstrate  it?'  Cumberland  said  'If  you  will 
give  me  your  hand,  and  permit  me  to  place  the  fingers  of 
my  other  hand  on  your  forehead,  and  you  will  concentrate 
your  mind  on  one  subject,  I  can  tell  you  what  it  is.'  I  was 
the  audience.  Mr.  Latrobe  closed  his  eyes  as  directed,  and 
sat  perfectly  still.  After  a  short  interval  Cumberland  said, 
'You  were  thinking  of  a  key,  the  key  to  the  inner  door  of 
your  safe  in  the  corner.'  And  so  it  was.  Cumberland  said 
he  could  not  explain  how  he  did  it,  but  he  had  the  power. 
I  could  multiply  anecdotes,  but  they  say  it  is  the  evi 
dence  of  senility.  I  look  back  on  my  intercourse  with  Mr. 
Latrobe  and  our  talks  while  walking  from  his  office  to  his 
home,  but  their  description  would  take  up  too  much  space. 

STATE  OF  MARYLAND  DEBT  AND  MR.  LATROBE'S  EMPLOYMENT 
BY  ITS  CREDITORS,  THE  BARING  BROTHERS — TRIP 
TO  EUROPE  IN   1847 

"The  troubles  of  1837,  the  suspension  of  specie  payments 
and  the  failure  of  the  State  of  Maryland  to  pay  the  interest 
on  the  public  debt,  were  the  means  of  bringing  me  into  con 
tact  with  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Ward  of  Boston,  an  agent  for  the 
Barings,  who  came  to  Baltimore  on  a  railroad  inspection 
tour,  and  I  went  up  the  B.  &  0.  Railroad  with  him.  We 
became  warm  friends  on  the  instant  I  should  say,  and  through 
him  I  became  counsel  for  the  creditors  of  the  State,  and 
worked  year  after  year  in  their  behalf,  until  at  length  the 
credit  of  Maryland  was  restored.  Those  were  busy  times. 
It  was  after  all  this  trouble  was  over  that  in  1847  I  paid 
my  first  visit  to  Europe." 

The  following  is  a  letter  from  the  Barings  to  Mr.  Latrobe, 
as  the  result  of  his  meeting  with  Ward : 


458  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

"London,  September  3,  1842. 
"J.  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq., 

Baltimore. 
"Sir: 

"The  financial  affairs  of  the  State  of  Maryland  being  a 
subject  of  great  interest,  both  to  ourselves  and  many  of  our 
friends,  Mr.  Ward  has  forwarded  to  us  for  perusal  the  de 
tailed  statement  he  lately  received  from  you,  showing  the 
present  and  prospective  revenue  which  is  deriveable  from 
the  various  sources  you  point  out,  and  we  cannot  deny  our 
selves  the  pleasure  of  writing  to  express  to  you  how  much 
satisfaction  it  has  afforded  us,  to  have  had  a  opportunity  of 
perusing  a  document  drawn  up  with  so  much  ability  and 
clearness.  We  fear  much  of  your  time  must  have  been  taken 
up  in  collecting  the  valuable  information  it  contains  and 
we  cannot  but  appreciate  the  great  sacrifice  you  have  made 
in  order  to  satisfy  the  enquiries  of  our  agent.  The  reason 
ing  with  which  your  statement  concludes  is  not  of  less  value 
than  the  other  parts,  more  of  detail,  embraced  in  it,  and  the 
impression  it  leaves  upon  our  mind  is  that  good  manage 
ment  and  economy  on  the  part  of  the  State  and  a  continu 
ance  of  patience  for  a  little  time  longer  on  the  part  of  its 
creditors,  are  all  that  is  required  to  enable  Mayland  to  re 
sume  the  high  ground  she  formerly  occupied  as  a  wealthy 
and  enlightened  part  of  the  Union. 

"We  trust  you  will  make  allowance  for  our  being  desirous 
to  obtain  the  most  correct  information  as  to  any  improve 
ment  or  change  which  may  take  place  in  the  financial  posi 
tion  of  your  State,  which  induces  us  to  express  a  hope  that 
you  will  communicate  to  Mr.  Ward  any  circumstances 
which  may  come  to  your  knowledge,  likely  to  have  any 
influence  on  the  decrease  or  development  of  her  resources, 
and  with  warmest  acknowledgments,  we  remain,  Sir, 
"Your  Obedient  Servants, 

"BARING  BROTHERS  COMPANY." 


THE  WALHALLA  ON  THE  DANUBE 


svn  vio  KiiK^ik^  awr 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  459 

"I  was  in  but  tolerable  health  when  I  went  to  Europe,  and 
was  only  too  glad  to  have  a  traveling  companion,  Mr. 
James  Swarm,  an  acquaintance  of  many  years  standing, 
whose  counsel  I  had  been  on  more  than  one  occasion.  The 
only  trouble  was  that  our  tastes  were  not  at  all  the  same. 
He  was  indifferent  to  art,  took  no  interest  in  pictures,  and 
did  not  sympathize  with  my  enthusiasm.  But  a  more  high- 
toned  honorable  gentleman  lived  not,  and,  while  we  differed 
often,  we  got  along  on  the  whole  admirably.  We  were  four 
teen  days  on  the  voyage  out,  in  the  Cunard  steamer  'Brit- 
tanica,'  Captain  Harrison,  landing  at  Liverpool  towards  the 
end  of  June.  We  went  to  London,  crossed  over  after  a  short 
stay  there  to  Ostend,  made  our  way  to  Paris,  thence  to 
Geneva,  visited  Milan  and  Venice,  crossed  the  Brenner,  got 
upon  the  Rhine,  went  to  Amsterdam,  thence  to  Rotterdam, 
and  thence  by  steamer  to  London.  I  reached  home  in  Sep 
tember  much  improved  in  health,  and  quite  ready  to  make 
another  trip  acoss  the  Atlantic.  Before  I  left  America,  I 
had  been  paid  my  fee  for  professional  services  on  behalf  of 
the  foreign  creditors.  I  remember  charging  $1,000.00. 
While  in  Paris,  a  letter  from  the  Messrs.  Baring  was  for 
warded  to  me  by  my  wife.  It  informed  me  that  I  had  under 
rated  my  services,  and  that  I  had  a  credit  with  them  for 
£500.  The  note  was  a  very  elegant  one,  and,  even  had  its 
style  been  rugged,  the  contents  would  have  smoothed  it. 
My  correspondence  with  Mrs.  Latrobe,  which  she  has,  I 
know,  carefully  preserved,  contains  a  minute  account  of  my 
European  wanderings. 

"I  have  already  mentioned  my  introduction  to  Thomas 
W.  Ward  and  my  employment,  in  consequence,  as  attor 
ney  in  Maryland  for  the  foreign  creditors  of  the  State.     A 
word  or  two  more  on  the  same  subject.     Mr.  Ward  became 
as  I  have  said,  my  intimate  friend,  and  I  cannot  let  the  occa- 


460  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

sion  pass  without  a  fuller  notice  to  one  of  the  honestest 
men  it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  call  a  friend.  I  was 
warmly  attached  to  him.  He  was  a  true  man.  He  said 
'It  is  the  time  for  me  to  go  off  the  stage,  the  world  is  moving 
too  fast  for  me.  The  telegraph  confuses  me.  This  having 
to  act  on  the  instant  is  not  what  I  have  been  accustomed 
to.  I  used  to  think  I  could  anticipate  months  ahead  com 
mercial  probabilities.  Now  I  have  to  make  up  my  mind 
at  a  moment's  notice.  What  is  to  be  the  end  of  it,  who  can 
tell?  Can  you?'  And  yet  there  probably  never  was  a  man 
who  was  more  accurate  in  his  judgment  than  Mr.  Ward. 
He  may  be  said  to  have  been  never  wrong.  Cool  and  de 
termined  action  with  him  was  intuition,  and  while  he  really 
believed  all  that  he  said  of  himself,  he  never  fell  short  of  the 
occasion.  It  was  only  necessary  to  look  into  his  twinkling 
hazel  eye  to  see  determination.  He  was  not  misled  by  false 
and  glittering  statements.  He  never  lost  sight  of  the  true 
point.  That  much  for  one  of  whom  history  will  make  no 
mention — who  did  his  duty  only,  and  who  has  passed 
away. 

"And  yet  another  word  about  Thomas  W.  Ward.  During 
the  period  when  Maryland  was  behindhand  in  the  payment 
of  the  interest  on  her  debt,  an  opportunity  presented  itself 
by  which  the  agents  of  the  State,  the  Barings,  for  whom  Mr. 
Ward  acted,  could  have  made  large  profits  by  purchasing 
the  State's  securities  at  the  market  rate.  Whether  Mary 
land  would  ever  pay  them  was  doubtful.  The  ablest  men 
in  the  commercial  world  doubted  it.  But  they  did  not 
know  as  much  as  others,  among  whom  were  the  Barings. 
An  agent  that  I  had  employed  in  Maryland  pressed  the  op 
portunity  strongly  upon  Mr.  Ward,  dwelling  upon  the  ad 
vantages  of  the  speculation.  'Sir,'  said  Mr.  Ward,  'the 
question  is  not  what  profit  they  may  make,  but  what  it  be 
comes  the  House  of  Baring  to  do.' 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  461 

"My  agency  for  the  foreign  creditors  brought  me  in  con 
tact  with  Mr.  Thomas  Baring  when  he  came  over  to  America, 
a  tall,  rather  stout,  florid  complexioned,  genial  Englishman, 
and  straightforward.  I  learned  to  know  him  well,  and  we 
got  on  excellent  terms.  One  day  in  my  office  he  saw  hang 
ing  up  Dr.  Johnson's  prayer  in  commencing  the  study  of 
the  law.  He  pretended  to  be  amused  at  seeing  it  where  it 
was.  'But,'  said  he,  'that,  Mr.  Latrobe,  is,  I  take  it,  for  the 
students.' 

As  Mr.  Baring  says,  the  prayer  was  intended  for  students 
and  is  headed  'Prayer  before  the  study  of  law.'  Whether  we 
are  better  than  we  used  to  be  and  need  not  pray,  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  know  of  no  lawyer's  office  that  has  it  on  its 
walls.  I  recollect  it  as  it  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  in 
Mr.  Latrobe's  office.  It  was  a  good  prayer;  perhaps  we 
lawyers  have  it  so  deeply  engraved  in  our  anatomy,  that 
we  need  not  have  it  made  visible.  It  reads: 

Sept.    26,    1765. 

Almighty  God,  the  giver  of  wisdom,  without  whose  help  resolutions 
are  vain,  without  whose  blessing  study  is  ineffectual;  enable  me,  if 
it  be  thy  will,  to  attain  such  knowledge  as  may  qualify  me  to  direct 
the  doubtful  and  instruct  the  ignorant;  to  prevent  wrongs  and  termi 
nate  contentions;  and  grant  that  I  may  use  the  knowledge  which  I 
shall  attain  to  thy  glory  and  my  own  salvation,  for  Jesus  Christ's 
sake,  Amen. 

"Another  person  with  whom  I  became  acquainted  in  this 
connection  was  Nathan  Hale  of  Boston,  Editor  of  the  'Daily 
Advertiser,'  a  tall,  square-shouldered  New  England  looking 
man,  but  the  very  impersonation  of  common  sense,  and  one 
of  the  cleverest  writers  I  ever  met  with  on  practical  subjects. 
We  wrote  Maryland  right;  and  Mr.  Hale's  articles  were 
among  the  best  that  passed  through  my  hands.  He  often 


462  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

came  on  to  Baltimore  to  consult  with  me,  and  always  to  my 
advantage. 

"Looking  back  now,  it  seems  strange  how  much  trouble 
it  took  to  bring  about  the  payment  of  interest  on  the  pub 
lic  debt.  Year  after  year  went  by.  The  State  was  in  sad 
credit.  At  Annapolis  one  winter,  Otto  Scott,  then  in  the 
Senate,  told  me  that  the  State  had  already  paid  one  half 
her  debt,  and  he  bet  me  a  case  of  champagne  that  in  another 
year  she  would  pay  the  whole  of  it,  her  stock  being  then  50c 
on  the  dollar  and  he  being  sure  that  in  winter  months  it 
would  be  utterly  worthless. 

"At  last,  when  all  things  seemed  ripe,  a  conclave  was  held, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  such  and  such  men  should  be  brought 
forward  for  the  Legislature.  Mr.  John  P.  Kennedy  was  one 
of  these,  and  he  was  made  speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates, 
with  the  understanding  he  was  to  appoint  Mr.  Thomas 
Donaldson  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means. 

One  night  Mr.  Donaldson  came  up  from  Annapolis  for 
consultation,  the  question  being  whether  the  law  insuring 
the  payment  should  be  pressed,  and  a  vote  taken.  Coupons 
had  been  received  in  payment  of  taxes,  and  there  was  a 
large  party  who  desired  that  this  system  should  continue.  It 
was  doubtful,  Mr.  Donaldson  said,  whether  if  the  Bill  for 
immediate  resumption  should  be  pressed,  it  would  pass, 
and  it  had  been  determined  that  I  should,  as  the  recognized 
agent  of  the  foreign  creditors,  decide  the  question.  I  re 
member  well  the  sense  of  responsibility  that  oppressed  me. 
It  was  evident  that  the  friends  of  resumption  were  uncer 
tain.  Luckily,  I  had  the  pluck  to  say  much  or  nothing, 
and  the  vote  was  taken,  and  the  bill  was  passed  and  the 
moment  it  was  passed,  the  wonder  was  that  there  could 
ever  have  been  a  doubt  on  the  subject.  The  State  drew  a 
long  breath,  and  has  breathed  freely  ever  since.  Mr.  Don- 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  463 

aldson  behaved  like  a  man,  so  did  Mr.  Kennedy,  and  many, 
many  others,  and  above  all,  Governor  Pratt  was  most  influ 
ential.  It  was  not  the  agreement  to  pay  that  perplexed 
people  who  were  politicians,  but  the  necessity  for  direct 
stamp  and  tax  duties  which  were  then  for  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  State  imposed.  The  delegates  and 
senators  had  angry  constituencies  to  meet,  and  they  met 
them  and  were  sent  back  to  increase  the  taxation,  which 
they  did;  and  Maryland  redeemed  herself,  despite  Sidney 
Smith's  twaddle. 

"I  find  that  I  have  said  nothing  about  the  incidents  of 
my  first  visit  to  Europe,  and  yet  a  word  or  two  in  regard 
to  those  I  met  there  may  as  well  form  a  part  of  these 
memoranda. 

"Mr.  Louis  McLane  gave  Mr.  Swann  and  myself  letters 
which  were  valuable  introductions  to  distinguished  people. 
Among  others  was  a  letter  to  Samuel  Rogers,  the  poet,  then 
an  old,  very  old  man.  He  invited  Mr.  Swann  and  myself 
to  breakfast,  where  we  met  a  company  whose  names  I  do 
not  recall,  if  I  ever  knew  them  at  all.  Some  ten  of  us  sat 
down  to  the  meal.  To  me  the  great  object  of  interest  was 
Mr.  Rogers  himself.  He  talked  a  good  deal,  and  his  con 
versation  was,  out  of  politeness  to  his  guests,  mainly  upon 
American  subjects.  I  well  remember  him  saying  that  he 
recalled  the  breaking  out  of  the  American  Revolution. 
'Sir,'  said  he,  'my  father,  who  took  a  great  interest  in 
the  affair  of  your  country,  deeply  deplored  the  war.  He 
was  on  your  side,  Sir,  and  when  the  news  of  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill  reached  England,  he  sent  for  his  haber 
dasher  and  ordered  a  suit  of  mourning,  and  did  not  cease 
to  wear  the  habiliments  of  woe  until  the  close  of  that 
most  unnatural  contest.'  It  was  something  to  have  seen 
one  who  could  narrate  such  an  anecdote.  Mr.  Rogers  had 


464  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

known  Mr.  Webster  when  the  latter  had  visited  England, 
and  spoke  a  good  deal  about  him,  and  drew  a  parallel  be 
tween  him  and  Mr.  Clay,  describing  Mr.  Clay  as  an  orator 
and  Mr.  Webster  as  a  statesman.  'Sir,'  said  he,  'when 
Mr.  Clay's  speeches  will  cumber  unheeded  the  shelves  of 
ancient  libraries,  the  works  of  Mr.  Webster  will  be  worn 
books  of  the  politicians  and  statesmen  of  your  country.' 
Mr.  Rogers  had  the  appearance  of  an  octogenarian.  His 
mouth  was  sunken,  and  his  head  and  neck  sunken  between 
his  shoulders.  His  speech  was  mumbling  and  somewhat 
indistinct,  but  there  was  an  animation  in  his  eye  that  indi 
cated  an  intelligence  as  bright  as  ever. 

"Among  other  letters  which  we  had  was  one  to  Sir  Rob 
ert  Inglis,  with  whom  we  breakfasted.  He  had  a  hearty 
English  look  and  was  very  kind.  Having  been  told  that  I 
was  interested  in  Colonization  and  the  African  Race  in 
consequence,  he  placed  me  at  the  table  so  that  I  sat  oppo 
site  a  portrait  of  Wilberforce  which,  if  I  am  not  mistaken 
in  my  recollection,  was  finished  only  so  far  as  the  head,  the 
drapery  and  background  being  only  sketched  on  the  can 
vas.  Sir  Robert  interested  himself  in  our  journey  on  the 
continent  and  made  out  an  itinerary  with  the  aid  of  Lady 
Inglis,  writing  it  with  a  pencil  in  the  intervals  of  the  break 
fast.  I  remember  he  had  a  large  loaf  by  him  which  he  cut 
in  pieces,  and  asked  me  whether  I  would  have  a  slice  or 
'a  chunk,'  explaining  to  me  the  meaning  of  the  term,  which 
was  a  novel  one. 

"A  letter  to  the  Honorable  Mr.  Harris,  Under-Secretary 
of  State  for  the  Colonies,  was  followed  by  an  invitation  to 
dinner  where  we  met  many  clever  persons,  among  others 
the  Surveyor- General  of  India  and  the  Dean  of  Westmin 
ster.  I  recall  the  pleasure  I  derived  from  the  conversation 
of  my  righthand  neighbor,  a  very  brilliant  woman,  whose 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  465 

features  even  at  this  late  day  I  can  recall  distinctly.  Free 
trade  was  one  of  the  topics  introduced  and  our  American 
tariff  was  criticised,  when,  as  an  illustration  of  English 
free  trade,  I  told  of  my  having  had  to  pay  on  half  a 
dozen  cigars,  which  the  Custom  House  Officers  happened  to 
see  in  my  waistcoat  pocket  when  I  landed.  Of  course  this 
was  told  in  a  joke.  The  dinner  was  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
description. 

"Lord  Bexley  had  known  my  father  when  they  were 
both  boys,  and  my  cousin,  Mr.  P.  Latrobe,  took  me  to  pay 
my  respects  to  him.  He  seemed  to  me  to  be  as  old  as  Mr. 
Rogers,  but  a  wholly  different  looking  man — very  thin, 
very  gray,  with  a  feeble  piping  voice,  but  an  interesting 
conversationalist.  He  warmed  up  more  than  I  expected 
him  to  do  when  it  was  to  be  recollected  that  it  was  in  the 
last  century  that  he  knew  my  father. 

"We  had  letters  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester  and  Lord  Mont- 
eagle,  but  were  prevented  by  circumstances  from  availing, 
of  them. 

"Parliament  was  in  session  when  we  were  in  London,  and 
Mr.  Swann  and  myself,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  William. 
Brown,  were  admitted  to  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
outside  the  bar,  where  we  were  introduced  to  a  very  hand 
some  Sir  Somebody,  Augustus  I  think,  Clifford,  who  was 
polite.  He  was  Usher  or  I  forget  what,  and  carried  a 
long  thin  rod. 

"When  in  the  House  of  Lords  I  heard  the  Marquis  of 
Lansdowne  speak,  Brougham,  I  am  not  sure  he  was  Lord 
Brougham,  though  of  course  he  must  have  been,  and  an 
old  gentleman  with  an  enormous  hook  nose.  'Pray,  who 
is  that'  I  asked  of  my  next  neighbor,  a  person  who  seemed 
on  familiar  terms  with  the  Lords  as  they  passed  in  or  out 
and  stopped  and  shook  hands  with  them.  'Why,  that  is 


466  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

the  Duke,' was  his  reply.  'What  Duke?' I  said.  The  gentle 
man  turned  to  look  at  me.  'Why,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,' 
he  answered,  with  some  surprise  in  his  tone.  'Ah',  I  re 
joined.  'Well,  he  speaks  indistinctly,  but  it  is  something 
at  all  events  to  have  heard  the  sound  even  of  the  voice 
that  commanded  at  Waterloo.'  This  led  into  a  further  con 
versation,  and  ended  by  my  friend  giving  me  his  card,  'The 
Very  Reverend  Principal  Lee,'  I  think  it  was  of  the  Univer 
sity  of  Edinborough,  and  he  pressed  me  warmly  to  call  on 
him  if  I  passed  through  the  capital  of  Scotland.  I  might 
have  done  so,  but  I  did  not,  to  my  regret  ever  since. 

"Landing  at  Liverpool  Mr.  Swann  and  I  went  to  York 
and  afterwards  to  London,  then  from  Dover  to  Ostend, 
then  to  Paris,  to  Geneva,  across  the  Simplon  to  Milan,  to 
Venice,  to  Innspruck,  to  Basle,  down  the  Rhine  to  Baden, 
Wiesbaden,  Arnheim,  Amsterdam,  to  Rotterdam,  to  London, 
to  Edinborough,  back  to  London,  to  Southampton  and 
home. 

"In  my  notice  of  my  first  visit  to  Europe  in  1847,  I  say 
nothing  of  an  event  which  certainly  made  a  great  impression 
at  the  time,  and  threatened  to  put  a  stop  to  all  autobiograph 
ical  writing  on  my  part.  The  Brittanica  was  approaching 
the  American  coast  in  very  heavy  weather,  and  through 
a  dense  fog,  and  for  three  days  the  Captain  had  not  had 
an  observation.  One  day  the  sea  went  down  suddenly, 
though  there  seemed  to  be  no  abatement  of  the  wind,  and 
it  came  to  my  mind  that  the  abatement  of  the  sea  was 
due  to  our  being  under  the  lee  of  Cape  Race,  which,  as  the 
wind  was,  would  account  for  the  condition  of  the  sea;  and 
leaving  the  dinner  table  and  joining  Captain  Harrison  on 
the  bridge,  I  told  him  of  my  apprehension.  He  said  he  knew 
where  we  were,  and  that  in  a  little  while  we  would  run  out 
of  the  fog,  and  find  ourselves  running  our  course  with  the 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  467 

land  about  Cape  Race  on  our  starboard  beam.  There  were 
no  soundings  taken,  no  abatement  of  the  speed  and  I  re 
turned  to  the  dining  room  to  find  that  my  apprehensions 
were  participated  in  by  other  passengers.  Still  we  drove  on, 
and  after  a  while  the  passengers  went  on  the  upper  deck, 
and  I  was  left  alone  in  the  cabin.  In  my  turn  I  too  went 
out  and  had  just  reached  the  gangway  when  I  heard  the  cry 
'half  beat — back  her,  back  her',  and  a  great  stamping  of  feet 
forward,  and  looking  over  the  rail  I  saw  looming  out  of  the 
fog  a  promontory  of  rocks,  and  almost  at  the  same  moment 
felt  and  heard  the  keel  grate  upon  the  rocks  three  times, 
when  the  ship  stopped,  her  bow  high  up  above  the  proper 
level  of  the  deck.  Of  course,  there  was  confusion  for  a 
moment  or  so,  when  all  the  passengers  who  had  assembled 
on  the  upper  deck  became  silent  and,  as  may  be  supposed, 
anxious  enough.  The  Captain  was  directing  all  the  for 
ward  weight,  &c.,  to  be  moved  aft,  and  there  was  a  steady 
batting  of  the  wheel.  I  stood  near  two  sailors  who  were 
sounding  astern.  Looking  seaward  I  saw  what  might  have 
been  taken  for  a  wall  of  water  moving  towards  the  vessel. 
It  reached  her,  passed  under  her,  and  broke  in  thunder  upon 
the  shore.  But  it  raised  the  vessel  to  an  even  keel  as  it 
passed,  and  dropped  her  with  a  thud,  that  threw  everyone  off 
his  feet.  'Look  here,  Tom,'  said  one  of  the  sailors,  'another 
such  shock,  and  the  mast  will  go  through  the  bottom.' 
Another  shock  did  come,  but  the  wheel  had  forced  the  vessel 
backward,  and  the  shock  was  less,  then  there  came  another, 
and  the  shock  was  slight,  and  then  the  rocks  were  lost  sight 
of,  and  we  were  running,  stern  foremost,  out  to  sea,  and 
pieces  of  the  false  keel  floating  on  the  surface  were  rapidly 
left  behind,  and  we  were  safe.  A  few  yards  to  the  right  or 
left  and  we  would  have  been  lost.  As  it  was  we  providenti 
ally  ran  into  a  small  cove  between  two  projecting  headlands. 


468  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

So  much  for  the  boasted  care  of  the  Cunarders.  Of  course, 
we  held  a  meeting  the  next  day,  and  whitewashed  the  captain 
who  should  have  been  lowered.  But  we  were  too  grateful 
to  be  just.  On  board  with  me  was  Mr.  Robert  C.  Winthrop, 
still  alive,  and  Colonel  Airey  with  whom  I  became  intimate, 
and  who  subsequently  became  distinguished  in  the  Crimean 
War.  My  second  visit  to  Europe  was  in  an  American 
steamer  the  Asago,  and  my  last  in  a  French  one,  going  and 
returning. 

"  Our  resolutions  saved  Captain  Harrison,  and  for  several 
years  afterwards  I  used  to  meet  him  at  Newport,  which  he 
occasionally  visited  in  the  intervals  of  his  summer  voyages. 
He  was  promoted  to  the  command  of  the  Great  Eastern, 
but  made  no  voyage  in  her,  having  been  drowned  by  the 
upsetting  of  a  skiff  in  Southampton  Water." 


OUTLINE  OF  THE  HORIZON  AT  ROME 
At  S*»s*t—Jrom  the  Pincian  Hill,  June  26,  1857,  drawn  by  John  H.  B.  Latrobt 


auoa.  IK  vio&i&ou  aai 

o^\— *»»«> 


\ 


CHAPTER  XVII 

TRIP  TO  EUROPE  IN  1857 — COUNSEL  FOR  THE  WINANS 
RAILROAD  INTERESTS  IN  RUSSIA 

During  the  year  1857,  Mr.  Latrobe  was  in  ill  health  due 
to  impure  water,  which  he  drank  at  the  National  Hotel  in 
Washington,  and,  in  order  to  recuperate,  he  determined 
upon  a  trip  to  Europe.  He  left  Baltimore  on  the  28th  of 
May,  1857,  and  sailed  for  Havre  from  New  York  on  the 
"Arago"  on  the  30th.  Turning  to  his  passport,  dated  the 
14th  day  of  May  1857,  we  find  the  following  description: 

"Fifty- three  years  old,  six  feet  high;  eyes,  hazel;  nose, 
common;  hair,  brown;  mouth,  small;  chin,  broad;  complex 
ion,  light;  face,  oval." 

A  photograph  of  Mr.  Latrobe  taken  while  in  Russia  is 
here  reproduced. 

He  took  quite  an  extensive  trip  through  Europe,  stopping 
at  different  places  of  interest.  As  was  his  custom,  he  drew 
pictures — pencil  sketches — of  places  which  he  visited.  One 
of  them,  which  has  considerable  merit,  is  the  outline  of  the 
horizon  at  Rome,  at  sunset,  from  the  Pincian  Hill,  June  28, 
1857.  Another  is  a  sketch,  unfinished  as  to  color,  of  St. 
Peters,  June  29,  1857,  showing  one  of  the  devotees  of  the 
church  kissing  the  Pope's  toe. 

Mr.  Latrobe  upon  this  trip  visited  England  and  there  met 
Mr.  Winans.  The  Winans  people  were  having  trouble  in 
St.  Petersburg  with  the  railroad.  The  Government  did 
not  agree  with  them,  and  on  September  19,  while  in  Paris, 
Mr.  Latrobe  received  a  telegram  from  Mr.  William  L. 
Winans  asking  him  if  he  would  go  to  St.  Petersburg  to  repre- 

469 


470  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

sent  Winans,  Harrison  &  Winans.    The  result  was  his  em 
ployment.    He  writes: 

"I  might  as  well  here,  as  elsewhere,  recite  an  episode  in 
my  professional  life,  which  has  probably  few  parallels. 
When  I  attended  the  meeting  of  the  American  Colonization 
Society  as  its  President,  in  the  month  of  January,  1857,  I 
took  a  parlor  and  chamber  at  the  National  Hotel  which  had 
been  occupied  at  one  time  by  President  Buchanan  and  was 
known  as  the  'President's  room.'  Here  I  received  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Society,  who  called  to  pay  their  respects.  In 
the  centre  of  the  parlor  was  a  round  table,  I  recollect,  on 
which  was  a  pitcher  of  ice  water,  of  which  I  drank  frequently 
and  freely,  and  to  this  temperate  indulgence  I  have  always 
been  satisfied  that  I  owed  the  sickness  with  which  I  was 
affected  on  my  return  to  Baltimore.  So  many  of  the  guests 
at  the  house  at  this  time  were  affected  in  the  same  way  that 
the  name  of  "The  National  Hotel  disease"  was  given  to 
the  derangement  of  the  bowels  which  they  suffered  from. 
One  of  t^ie  symptoms,  according  to  my  experience,  was  a 
terrible  depression  of  spirits  which  seized  me  daily  and 
always  at  the  same  hour.  I  expected  to  have  fallen  away 
in  flesh,  but  it  was  not  so.  On  the  contrary  my  face  became 
fuller,  if  anything,  but  my  complexion  was  of  a  tallowy  hue; 
medicine  could  do  nothing  for  me  and  month  after  month 
passed  without  any  change  for  the  better.  At  length,  in  a 
sort  of  despair,  I  resolved  to  try  what  effect  a  sea  voyage 
would  have,  and  taking  with  me  my  son  Ferdinand,  I  left 
Baltimore  on  my  second  visit  to  Europe,  sailing  from  New 
York  in  the  Steamer  'Arago'  in  May,  1857.  We  landed  at 
Havre,  and  went  at  once  to  Paris.  My  voyage  had  not 
benefited  me  much,  and  I  was  still  suffering  from  periodical 
depression  of  spirits,  when  one  afternoon,  as  I  was  seated  in 
misery  in  the  Garden  of  the  Tuileries,  Ferdinand  proposed, 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  471 

in  the  hope  of  rousing  me,  that  we  should  go  to  the  Theatre. 
We  went  there  accordingly,  and  procured  seats  in  the  stalls, 
in  front  of  the  boxes  and  in  a  most  conspicuous  position. 
While  here,  Mr.  William  L.  Winans  recognized  me,  and 
coming  to  where  I  sat,  between  the  acts,  introduced  him 
self,  for  I  had  not  seen  him  for  years,  and  invited  me  to  dine 
with  him  the  next  day.  We  had  a  capital  dinner  and  parted 
with  a  promise  on  my  part  that  I  would  let  him  know  at 
Brighton,  where  his  family  then  were,  when  I  reached 
London. 

"Ferdinand  and  I  then  made  the  tour  of  Europe,  going 
to  Marseilles,  Naples,  Rome,  Florence,  Venice,  Bologna, 
'doing'  Switzerland  and  Holland  and  bringing  up  at  London, 
where  I  kept  my  promise  to  Mr.  Winans.  He  came  up  to 
London  and  took  us  down  to  Brighton.  The  firm  of  Winans, 
Harrison  and  Winans  had  just  secured  the  contract  with 
the  Russian  Government  for  the  remount  of  the  Nicolai 
Railway  between  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  and  Mr. 
Winans  showed  me  the  ninety-odd  articles  of  it,  and  we 
passed  a  morning  going  over  it,  his  object  being  to  have  my 
opinion  upon  certain  questions  that  might  possibly  arise 
under  it.  He  noted  my  answers  to  inquiries  that  he  made, 
md,  laying  business  aside,  treated  me  en  prince,  dined  me, 
drew  me  out,  and  did  everything  in  his  power  to  make  my 
visit  a  pleasant  one.  The  next  day  Ferd  and  I  returned  to 
London  and  set  to  work  sight  seeing.  The  day  after  I 
received  a  note  from  Mr.  Winans  with  his  check  on  Baring 
Brothers  for  £200 — a  most  unexpected  fee  for  my  morning's 
chat,  for  it  was  little  more,  over  the  Russian  contract. 

"After  'doing'  England  and  Holland,  we  went  again  to 
Paris  to  wait  there  for  the  sailing  of  the  'Arago,'  in  which  we 
were  to  return  to  America.  There  we  met  Judge  Dobbin  and 
his  son  George,  and  took  up  our  quarters  in  the  Hotel  du 
Louvre. 


472  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"I  had  paid  my  passage,  and  had  packed  my  trunk,  and 
was  altogether  anxious  for  home,  when  the  day  before  we 
were  to  leave  France  I  received  a  telegram  from  Mr.  Winans, 
to  whom  I  had  given  my  address  in  Paris,  in  these  words — 
'What  sum  will  induce  you  to  pass  the  winter  with  me  i 
St.  Petersburg?'  Now  I  had  no  desire  to  go  to  Russia. 
I  had  been  absent  from  my  office  in  Baltimore  some  four  or 
five  months.  I  was  in  good  practice.  I  did  not  want  to 
interfere  with  it,  and  naturally  I  wanted  to  see  my  family. 
So  I  held  grave  counsel  with  Ferdinand  as  to  the  reply  that 
I  should  make  to  this  most  unexpected  proposal.  When 
I  gave  him  my  reasons  for  returning  to  America,  he  sug 
gested  that  I  should  make  my  answer  declining  the  North 
ern  visit  a  very  courteous  one,  seeing  how  liberally  I  had 
been  paid  for  my  Brighton  trip.  Suddenly  it  occurred  to  me 
that  I  would  fix  a  price  for  my  services  that  would  be  too 
great  for  Mr.  Winans  to  give,  though  not  too  large  for  me 
to  ask,  looking  to  the  possible  consequences  of  so  long  an 
absence  from  my  practice.  We  had  talked  of  $50,000,  a 
sum  that  would  be  very  reasonable  under  the  circumstances, 
but  with  little  expectation  that  it  would  be  paid,  and  when 
I  said  I  would  name  $60,000,  I  was  very  sure  that  this 
amount  would  be  regarded  as  more  than  the  occasion 
warranted,  while  it  was  not  more  than  was  proper  to  com 
pensate  for  all  the  services  I  might  render  and  the  risk  to 
health  and  life  that  I  might  run.  And  so  I  telegraphed 
back  to  London  the  words  'For  $60,000,  and  my  expenses 
from  now  until  my  return  to  Baltimore  I  will  pass  five 
months  with  you  in  St.  Petersburg.'  I  had  no  expectation, 
or  at  all  events  but  little,  of  my  proposition  being  accepted; 
although  Judge  Dobbin,  then  Mr.  Dobbin,  thought  it  would 
be.  He  thought  that  my  long  experience  in  all  railroad 
matters  would  make  my  services  in  Russia  to  Mr.  Winans 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891 


473 


regarding  the  contract  for  the  remount  peculiarly  valuable, 
and  that  Mr.  Winans  would  so  consider  it.  Then,  I  con 
fess,  I  awaited  the  reply  with  considerable  anxiety,  for  by 
this  time  I  had  become  desirous  of  going  to  St.  Petersburg. 
The  next  day  brought  it,  in  these  words — 'Your  proposition 
accepted,  meet  me  tomorrow  at  Calais  en  route  for  Russia.' 
This  settled  the  business.  I  wrote  at  once  to  Mrs.  Latrobe, 
referring  her  to  Ferdinand  for  particulars,  executed  a  full 
power  of  attorney  to  my  son  Osmun,  who  was  then  in  my 
office,  and,  shaking  hands  with  Dobbin  and  Ferd,  saw  them, 
the  same  afternoon,  off  for  Havre,  and  the  next  morning 
took  the  railroad  for  Calais,  where  I  stood  on  the  pierhead 
and  was  hailed  by  Mr.  Winans,  as  the  boat  from  Dover 
steamed  round  it.  The  next  day  I  left  for  Russia,  via 
Berlin  where  Col.  Klockoff,  advised  of  my  coming  by  Mr. 
Winans,  was  awaiting  me,  and  by  him  I  was  escorted,  via 
Stettin  and  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  to  St.  Petersburg.  The 
voyage  was  a  pleasant  one.  The  steamer  was  crowded 
with  persons  returning  home  after  a  summer's  trip  to  the 
watering  places.  I  made  agreeable  acquaintances,  and, 
forgetting  my  Baltimore  office  and  clientele,  prepared  for 
the  new  experience  of  my  Russian  winter.  I  landed  at  the 
English  quay,  got  into  a  Drosky,  and,  rattling  over  the 
roughest  pavements  in  the  most  miserable  of  vehicles,  was 
soon  installed  in  the  Gastanuza  (Hotel)  Kle,  the  principal 
hotel  in  St.  Petersburg,  as  my  headquarters  for  the  next  five 
months. 

"My  accommodations  in  the  Hotel  Kle  were  indifferent, 
until  Mr.  Winans  arrived,  when  he  at  once  changed  them. 
I  was  then  installed  in  an  apartment,  consisting  of  an  ante 
room,  a  large  and  lofty  parlor,  and  a  bed  room  almost  as 
large  beyond  it;  looking  out,  on  the  one  side  upon  a  wide  and 
handsome  street  and  on  the  other  upon  a  public  square. 


474  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  agreeable  to  my  taste, 
barring  furniture,  which  was  scant  enough;  indeed,  I  recall 
a  lounge,  a  table,  a  looking  glass  and  an  escritoire.  One 
angle  of  the  parlor  was  cut  off  by  a  large  stove  plated  with 
glazed  white  tiles.  The  floor  was  waxed  once  a  week  and 
kept  polished  as  smooth  as  ice.  There  were,  I  think,  three 
or  four  chairs,  only  scattered  here  and  there.  The  furniture 
of  the  bed-room  was  not  more  ample,  and  my  bed  was,  I 
am  sure,  not  more  than  three  feet  wide,  if  as  much.  After 
a  while  I  procured  a  double  bed,  and  was  then  much  more 
comfortable.  The  furniture  of  the  ante  room  was  limited 
to  the  stand  on  which  visitors  hung  their  cloaks.  When 
I  got  a  servant,  a  cot  was  placed  there  for  his  accommodation, 
and  high  up  in  one  angle  of  the  room  he  hung  the  picture  of 
a  saint,  before  which  a  taper  was  kept  at  all  times  burning. 
This  suite  was  vacated  by  Prince  Galitzin.  On  the  margin 
the  plan  of  the  apartment  is  given. 

"After  Mr.  Winans  had  seen  me  fairly  installed  in  these 
rooms,  I  gradually  acquired  a  sort  of  home  feeling  in  con 
nection  with  them.  The  Landlord  and  oberkellner  were  most 
obliging.  I  dined  in  the  coffee  room  and  began  to  study  the 
language;  and  by  the  end  of  the  first  week  had  settled  down 
for  the  winter.  Colonel  Klockoff  procured  me  seats  for  the 
season  at  the  Grand  Opera,  and  saw  that  I  was  supplied 
with  a  coupe  and  pair  and  a  suitably  dressed  coachman. 
Afterwards  I  provided  myself  with  a  valet.  One  day  as 
Mr.  Winans  and  myself  were  passing  through  the  hall,  we 
met  a  distinguished  looking  lady  whom  he  had  known  in 
Paris  at  the  Hotel  du  Louvre,  and  introduced  me  to  her. 
This  was  the  Madam  Helene  de  Bartholomaie,  with  whom 
and  whose  family  I  afterwards  became  so  intimate.  Above 
the  common  height  of  woman,  and  of  a  good  figure  and 
animated  countenance,  she  was  one  of  the  most  graceful 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891 


475 


and  at  the  same  time  dignified  women  I  have  ever  seen. 
Full,  too,  of  high  spirits,  she  had  all  the  attractions  which 
make  the  sex  attractive  to  men.  She  was  always  striving 
to  be  of  service  to  somebody,  and  seemed  never  happier 
than  when  doing  a  good  turn.  Her  husband,  General  D. 
Bartholomaie,  was  a  distinguished  officer,  and  in  command, 
at  this  time,  of  the  Fortress  of  Brest  on  the  frontiers  of 
Poland.  She  had  lost  two  lovely  daughters  just  as  they 
were  emerging  into  womanhood,  and,  although  this  was 
years  before,  I  know  the  recollections  of  them  were  still 
vivid  enough  to  cloud  her  natural  gaiety  when  circum 
stances  recalled  her  loss.  Her  son,  Alex.,  was  a  captain  in 
the  Grand  Duke  Constantine's  Hussars,  and  I  became  much 
attracted  to  him.  He  was  passing  the  winter  in  St.  Peters 
burg  with  his  mother.  Another,  Michael,  was  in  the  Diplo 
matic  Service.  He  is  now  Chancellor  of  the  Russian  Lega 
tion  at  Sidonio,  in  1877,  and  would  have  come  to  the  United 
States  as  Ambassador,  had  the  new  minister  who  succeeded 
Baron  Burow  at  the  Court  of  St.  James  been  able  to  dispense 
with  his  services  there.  Madame  Bartholomaie  was  one  of 
the  few  Russian  women  I  have  ever  seen  who  had  splendid 
teeth.  The  marble  copy  of  her  hand  is  on  the  centre  table 
in  Baltimore.  (I  write  this  at  Fairy  Knowe.)  It  was 
celebrated  for  its  beauty,  and  her  foot  corresponded  with  it. 
At  this  time  Madame  was  45,  admitted,  and  her  hair,  when 
she  was  not  in  full  dress,  showed  it;  but,  en  grande  tenue,  she 
was  certainly  one  of  the  most  striking  women  I  have  ever 
seen,  and  looked  much  younger.  So  much  for  a  lady  to 
whom  I  was  indebted  for  much  pleasure,  and  whose  standing 
was  of  the  highest,  and  whose  introduction  of  me  to  the 
Bulongyansky  family,  her  sisters,  five  of  them,  was  of  much 
service  to  me  socially  while  I  remained  in  Russia.  What 
has  become  of  her  now  I  do  not  know.  We  corresponded 


476  JOHN   H.   B.  LATROBE 

• 

for  many  years,  and  I  met  her  with  her  son  at  Berne  in 
Switzerland,  when  I  took  my  wife  and  daughter  to  Europe 
in  1868.  Soon  after  I  was  introduced  to  her,  she  left  the 
Hotel  Kle,  and  made  her  home  for  the  winter  at  the  Hotel 
de  Mouth. 

"As  soon  as  I  had  settled  down,  I  called  on  the  American 
Minister,  Mr.  Thos.  A.  Seymour,  who  became  my  intimate 
friend  while  I  was  in  Russia,  and  whose  death  not  long 
after  his  return  to  America  I  sincerely  regretted.  We  were 
constantly  together,  dined  together,  drove  together,  went 
into  society  together,  and,  as  Mr.  Seymour  spoke  no  language 
but  his  own,  I  was  not  only  his  companion,  but  his  inter 
preter  too.  It  was  through  him  I  was  presented  to  the 
Emperor,  which  led  to  my  presentation  to  each  member 
of  the  Imperial  family  in  succession. 

"In  a  paper  that  I  prepared  to  be  read  at  the  Town  & 
Country  Club  at  Newport  in  the  summer  of  1876,  I  have 
given  an  account  of  my  different  presentations,  as  well 
as  of  other  matters  during  my  winter  at  the  Russian 
Capital.  This  is  among  my  papers  and  I  shall  refer  to  it 
rather  than  repeat  what  I  have  there  written  very  much  in 
detail.  Some  matters,  however,  I  omitted  that  I  may  as 
well  record  now. 

"The  next  presentation  in  order,  after  the  Emperor  had 
received  me,  was  to  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  and 
when  I  saw  that  it  had  taken  place  without  my  being  in 
vited,  I  was  afraid  that  perhaps  there  had  been  some  mis 
take  made  by  me  at  the  Winter*  Palace.  This  was  not  so, 
however,  and  a  note  through  Mr.  Seymour  invited  me  to  the 
Marble  Palace,  the  residence  of  the  Grand  Duke,  where  I 
was  to  be  received  in  his  private  cabinet.  This  was  far 
more  satisfactory,  and  I  accordingly  was  punctual  in  my 
attendance  at  the  appointed  hour.  I  was  shown  at  first 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891 


477 


into  a  handsome  apartment,  where  there  were  many  models 
of  ships  and  other  nautical  matters,  and  where  I  remained 
until  the  Grand  Duke  had  dismissed  a  prior  visitor.  The 
usher  then  showed  me  into  a  large  room  filled  with  books — 
evidently  a  library — the  private  cabinet  of  his  Highness. 
He  rose  as  I  entered  and  advanced  towards  me  holding  out 
both  hands,  and  saying,  as  he  mentioned  my  name,  'Out 
and  out  an  American.'  'Yes,  Your  Highness,  out  and  out 
an  American.'  He  then  seated  himself  at  a  sort  of  secretary 
and  motioned  me  to  a  chair  which  placed  me  vis-a-vis  to 
him  with  the  angle  of  the  writing  table  of  the  secretary 
between  us. 

"At  first  our  conversation  was  purely  conventional. 
When  had  I  arrived  in  Russia?  how  the  climate  suited  me; 
how  I  was  lodged,  &c.,  &c.,  when  he  said  suddenly,  'Why 
is  it  that  Americans  and  Russians  like  each  other  so  much?' 
He  spoke  English  fluently,  and  with  a  very  slight  accent 
indeed.  'We  are  both  of  us  new  people  in  one  sense — we 
have  each  of  us  a  future.  If  the  old  countries  can  maintain 
their  present  power  and  wealth,  it  is  as  much  as  they  can 
do,  but  Russia  and  America  are  in  their  youth,  and  a  great 
development  is  to  be  anticipated  for  both.'  'Any  other 
reason?'  he  then  asked.  'We  are  both  large  countries,  your 
Highness,  and,  as  among  boys,  the  big  sympathize  and 
associate  with  the  big.'  He  smiled  and  said,  'Well,  what 
other  reason? '  'We  neither  of  us  are  satisfied  with  the  extent 
of  our  territorial  possessions.'  'Ah!  what  do  you  mean  by 
that?'  'We  are  charged  by  the  world  with  wanting  Mexico 
and  Canada,  and  scandal,  your  Highness,  whispers,  perhaps 
you  would  not  be  unwilling  to  add  Constantinople.'  Here 
the  Grand  Duke  laughed  as  he  said,  'But  don't  you  think, 
Mr.  Latrobe,  that  we  have  territory  enough  each  of  us 
already?'  'Certainly,  your  Highness,  according  to  the 


478  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

American  definition  of  "enough." '  'Yes?  And  pray  what  is 
the  American  definition  of  "enough " '  ?  '  "Enough' '  in  Amer 
ica,  your  Highness,  means  a  little  more.'  Here  the  Grand 
Duke  laughed  very  heartily,  and  repeated  my  words,  which 
seemed  to  amuse  him  greatly.  Presently  he  said  'But  you 
have  not  mentioned  the  most  powerful  reason  of  all.'  'And, 
if  I  may  venture  to  ask,'  I  inquired,  'what  may  that  be, 
your  Highness'?  'We  have  a  common  enemy,  cotton  is 
all  that  makes  England  the  friend  of  America.'  I  forget 
what  I  said  in  reply,  but  I  remember  that  I  did  not  discuss 
the  subject,  and  the  conversation  turned  in  another  direc 
tion.  He  talked  of  sending  a  fleet  to  visit  the  United  States, 
when  I  promised  it  a  welcome.  The  extension  of  the  rail 
road  system  over  Russia  was  spoken  of.  The  expense  of 
transportation  to  Sevastopol  during  the  Crimean  War  was 
mentioned.  I  spoke  of  the  value  of  the  system,  as  a  military 
aid  to  attack  and  defense.  I  told  him  about  Liberia,  and 
promised  to  write  him  a  letter  on  the  subject,  for  he  knew 
very  little  about  it.  And  anticipating  the  nod  which  termi 
nated  such  interviews  ordinarily,  by  rising  after  such  a 
long  conversation,  I  terminated  the  longest  conversation — 
and  a  most  agreeable  one,  too — that  I  ever  had  with  Royalty. 

"When  I  got  back  to  the  Hotel  after  this  interview  with 
the  Grand  Duke,  I  prepared  carefully  a  monograph  about 
Liberia,  which  the  Grand  Duke  had  translated  into  Russian 
and  published  in  the  official  Journal  of  the  Marine  I  think. 

"In  the  library  at  'Fairy  Knowe'  there  is  a  letter  from  the 
Grand  Duke,  thanking  me  for  an  autograph  of  General 
Washington.  One  day  when  visiting  the  Imperial  Library, 
I  found  that  in  a  collection  of  autographs  of  distinguished 
men,  Washington  was  wanting,  much  to  the  regret  of  the 
Baron,  the  librarian.  I  at  once  wrote  to  America  to  several 
friends,  and,  among  others,  to  my  brother-in-law,  Dr. 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  479 

Stuart,  who  procured  a  receipt  given  by  General  Washington 
to  General  Mercer  for  some  corn.  I  think  that  it  was  to 
be  credited  on  account  of  a  debt.  I  at  once  sent  it  to 
the  Grand  Duke  to  be  presented  to  the  Emperor,  and  the 
letter  in  the  library  is  the  reply  to  my  communication. 

"The  Grand  Duke  Constantine  Nicolaivitch,  when  I 
knew  him,  was  a  man  below  the  common  height,  but  with 
out  being  a  small  man.  He  had  a  soldierly  carriage,  and 
a  most  pleasant  and  agreeable  manner,  offhand  and  genial. 
I  met  him  after  our  interview  at  the  Marble  Palace  and  was 
always  cordially  greeted  by  him. 

"Sometime  afterwards  he  sent  a  fleet  to  America,  and  I 
was  one  of  a  Committee  of  citizens  of  Baltimore  at  large 
to  visit  New  York  and  invite  the  Admiral  to  bring  his 
ships  to  Baltimore.  I  was  certainly  the  only  one  of  the 
Committee  that  could  boast  of  the  acquaintance  of  the 
High  Admiral. 

"I  have  mentioned  and  described  Madame  de  Bartholo- 
maei.  I  ought  to  speak  kindly  of  her,  for  on  one  occasion 
she  was,  under  Providence,  the  means  of  saving  my  life. 
The  'Hotel  disease'  still  afflicted  me  after  my  arrival  in 
St.  Petersburg,  and  I  regarded  a  more  than  usual  irregularity 
in  my  bowels  as  but  another  manifestation  of  it  that  would 
soon  pass  away.  As  it  turned  out,  however,  this  was  but 
a  premonitory  symptom  of  Asiatic  Cholera.  I  had  been 
one  day  at  Levitzsky's,  the  photographer,  with  Madame 
de  Bartholomaei,  and  found  myself  in  a  good  deal  of  pain, 
so  much  so  that  I  was  about  sending  an  apology  to  Madame 
Kaphen,  Madame  de  Bartholomaei's  sister,  where  I  had 
agreed  to  pass  the  evening,  taking  Madame  de  Bartholomaei 
in  my  carriage.  Feeling  better,  however,  when  we  left 
Levitzsky's,  I  told  my  companion  I  would  call  for  her  which 
I  did,  and  between  seven  and  eight  o'clock  we  were  set 


480  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

down  at  Madame  de  Kaphen's  door.  It  was  a  family  party, 
mostly  children  collected  to  see  the  sleight  of  hand  tricks  of 
a  lad,  Prince  B.,  who  instead  of  attending  to  his  books  in 
the  Corps  des  Pages,  had  made  himself  a  very  tolerable 
juggler.  Here  I  suffered  great  pain  until  midnight,  when 
my  carriage  was  announced,  and  I  handed  Madame  B. 
into  it  with  intense  relief  at  the  prospect  of  getting  to  my 
hotel.  I  had  to  set  my  companion  down  on  the  way  and, 
before  I  reached  the  Hotel  de  Mouth,  was  seized  with  agoniz 
ing  spasms  which  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  conceal.  She 
saw  my  condition — that  I  was  not  able  even  to  see  her  to  her 
apartment,  and  as  my  servant  closed  the  carriage  door,  I 
heard  her  say  to  the  coachman  in  Russ,  'Scarey,  scarey, 
('Hurry,  hurry'). 

"When  I  got  to  the  Hotel  Kle  it  was  after  midnight,  and 
the  Swiss  helped  me  from  the  carriage  and  to  my  room.  I 
should  have  kept  my  servant,  but  as  soon  as  I  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Swiss,  Mr.  Frederick  washed  his  hands  of  me 
and  went  home.  Then  the  Swiss  disappeared  and  the  hotel 
was  closed  for  the  night.  I  now  rang  the  bell  which  was 
answered  by  a  man,  a  sort  of  watchman,  whom  I  got  to 
understand  with  the  few  Russian  words  at  my  command  that 
I  wanted  water — hot  water — very  hot  water.  This  was 
brought  to  me  quickly,  but  it  did  me  not  the  slightest  good, 
and  I  undressed  and  went  to  bed  in  the  hope  that  a  recum 
bent  position  might  benefit  me.  But  I  was  mistaken; 
cramps  came  on,  cold  sweat  was  on  my  forehead,  and, 
deserted  by  the  servants  and  unable  to  help  myself,  I  was 
just  as  miserable  as  I  could  be.  I  was  lying  on  my  back  with 
my  knees  drawn  up,  when  a  knock  on  the  outer  door  was  fol 
lowed  by  the  entrance  of  Madame  de  Bartholomaei's  servant, 
a  German  who  spoke  no  language  but  his  own  and  Russ. 
He  brought  me  a  note  which  said  'Let  me  know  how  you  are; 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  481 

you  were  in  pain.'  I  was  just  able  to  scrawl  a  word  or  two, 
which  Korf  scarcely  waited  for  before  he  was  off  to  report 
my  condition  to  his  mistress.  It  seemed  but  a  few  minutes 
before  I  heard  a  sleigh  stop  at  the  door  of  the  hotel  and  im 
mediately  afterwards  there  was  a  knock  at  the  ante-room 
door,  accompanied  by  the  words  'Puis  j'  entrer?'  and  with 
out  waiting  for  an  answer  Madame  de  B.  stood  at  the  foot 
of  my  bed,  a  mass  of  furs  and  many  wrappings.  Her  first 
words  were  to  ask  the  name  of  my  physician,  if  I  had  one. 
I  answered,  Dr.  Rogers,  living  on  the  Galerie.  She  dis 
appeared,  the  sleigh  bells  rattled  again,  and  when  she  came 
back,  it  was  to  regulate  the  room,  rouse  the  oberkellner,  send 
for  my  servant,  and  generally  assume  control  while  I  lay 
speechless  with  misery  and  pain. 

"It  seems  that,  after  I  left  Madame  de  B.  at  her  hotel, 
her  son  came  from  a  party  and  hearing  him  in  conversation 
with  Korf,  it  occurred  to  her  to  send  the  latter  to  see  how 
I  was;  telling  him  to  look  up  at  my  windows  from  the  street, 
and  not  to  go  to  my  room  unless  he  saw  a  light  there.  In 
that  event,  he  was  to  deliver  her  note.  Korf's  report  had 
alarmed  her,  made  her  fear  that  I  had  the  cholera  and 
brought  her  to  my  relief.  Had  she  not  come  I  might  have 
been  a  dead  man  before  morning. 

"It  was  not  long  before  Dr.  Rogers  was  with  me,  and, 
without  going  into  detail,  he  brought  me  through  with 
God's  assistance.  He  remained  with  me  an  hour  and 
Madame  de  B.  not  leaving  me  at  the  same  time,  I  said 
something  about  her  staying  with  me  at  the  Hotel> 
now  that  the  physician  had  taken  his  leave.  She  laughed 
and  then  remarked — 'N'ai  je  pas  le  rang,  et  n'ai  je  pas  1'age 
pour  faire  sans  reproche  les  devoirs  d'une  femme  russe?'  By 
this  time  I  was  out  of  pain,  and  at  the  end  of  a  week  was 
quite  well  of  Asiatic  cholera,  and  along  with  it  disappeared 


482  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

what  remained  of  the  'Hotel  Disease.'  So  much  for  Mad 
ame  de  B.  In  1868,  when  Mrs.  Latrobe  and  Virginia  and 
Lillie  met  her  at  Berne,  she  was  quite  gray,  and  my  wife 
was  charmed  with  her.  She  was  then  sixty,  she  said,  and 
still  had  the  bearing  that  distinguished  her  in  1857. 

"My  duty  at  St.  Petersburg  was  to  answer  questions 
submitted  to  me  by  Mr.  Winans,  growing  out  of  his  contract 
with  the  Government.  My  office  was  at  Alexandroffsky. 
It  comprised  a  suite  of  rooms,  an  ante-room,  in  which  was  a 
billiard  table,  a  large  room  adjoining  in  which  I  worked,  and 
beyond  that  a  room  for  a  clerk  when  I  required  one.  My 
hours  were  from  10  a.m.  until  3  p.m.,  barring  Sundays  and 
Holy  days,  when  I  remained  in  St.  Petersburg.  When  the 
roads  were  free  from  snow  I  drove  to  Alexandroffsky  in  my 
coupe;  when  there  was  snow  on  the  ground  I  went  to  and 
fro  in  my  sanyat  or  sley.  And  this  routine  was  uninterrupted 
except  when  I  was  kept  in  St.  Petersburg  by  my  cholera 
trouble. 

"One  day  I  was  at  the  English  Magazine  with  Governor 
Seymour,  and  had  just  passed  through  the  anteroom  of  a 
long  range  of  apartments,  when  I  noticed  that  the  doors  in 
front  of  us  were  thrown  rapidly  open  by  the  liveried  attend 
ants,  and  low  obeisances  were  made  to  a  very  handsome 
woman,  fashionably  dressed,  as  she  passed  through  them  on 
her  way  out  of  the  building.  She  was  under  the  middle  size 
of  her  sex,  but  of  a  very  queenly  carriage,  and  I  noticed  that 
she  did  what  always  attracts  my  attention — walked  well. 
Mr.  Seymour  and  I  stood  aside,  and  as  she  went  by,  she 
nodded — no,  she  did  not  nod,  a  graceful  motion  of  the  head 
was  anything  but  a  nod,  accompanied  as  it  was  by  a  pleasant 
smile  of  recognition.  'Confounded  pretty  woman  that, 
Governor,'  I  said  in  a  whisper,  louder  than  I  intended  and 
which  I  am  sure  she  heard.  Hush,  my  good  Sir,'  was  the 


PASS  OF  JAMES  RIVER,  2  MILES  BEWW  BALCONY  PALLS 
Painted  by  John  B.  B.  Latrobe. 


• 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  483 

reply,  'why,  that's  the  Grand  Duchess  Marie' — nor  am  I  sure 
that  my  rudeness  was  not  overlooked  in  the  compliment 
paid  by  one  who  evidently  did  not  know  that  she  belonged 
to  royalty.  I  saw  her  frequently  afterwards,  in  the  array 
of  the  ballroom,  and  could  not  make  up  my  mind  which 
became  her  most — diamonds  and  pearls,  or  the  pink  morn 
ing  walking  dress  that  she  wore  on  the  occasion  referred  to. 
My  seat  at  the  opera  was  next  to  her  husband,  Count 
Strogonoff,  one  of  the  handsomest  men  I  saw  in  Russia. 
He  was  a  great  lover  of  music  apparently,  while  I  visited 
the  opera  as  a  means  of  passing  an  otherwise  stupid  evening. 
I  not  infrequently  went  sound  asleep,  and,  when  aroused 
by  the  applause  of  the  audience,  woke  up  to  join  in  it.  This 
amused  my  neighbor,  who  once  asked  me  what  brought  me 
to  the  opera  when  I  was  so  indifferent  to  the  performance. 
'To  have  the  pleasure  of  being  seated  next  to  Count  Strogo 
noff.'  He  bowed  and  laughed  and  said  something  about 
the  readiness  of  the  American. 

"  One  evening  Mr.  Seymour  called  on  me  with  one  of  the 
best  conversationalists  I  have  ever  met,  Mr.  Henry  Wykoff , 
better  known  as  the  Chevalier  Wykoff.  We  sat  together 
until  long  after  midnight;  and,  while  he  remained  in  St. 
Petersburg  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him.  He  knew  a  great 
many  persons  whose  names  had  been  in  people's  mouths 
with  terms  of  greater  or  less  praise.  Louis  Napoleon  he  had 
visited  in  Havre.  He  had  known  him  at  Lady  Blessing- 
ton's.  Louis  Napoleon,  he  told  me,  remarked  one  day  that 
'the  regiments  which  guarded  the  castle  were  frequently 
changed;  they  feared  to  let  one  remain  longer  than  a  few 
months,  for  fear  I  should  corrupt  it.  At  the  rate  they  are 
going  on,'  he  said  laughingly,  'they  are  giving  me  an  oppor 
tunity  to  corrupt  the  entire  army !'  Wykoff  was  an  intimate 
of  Count  D'Orsay,  and  his  account  of  the  circumstances  of 


484  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

Lady  Blessington's  death  was  very  interesting.  He  had 
been  invited  to  dine  at  her  house,  and  was  told  as  he  was 
ascending  the  stairs  that  she  was  dead — had  just  died.  As 
told  by  Wykoff,  the  account  was  truly  affecting.  The 
Guicciola  was  another  of  his  acquaintances.  I  cannot  pre 
tend,  however,  to  recollect  all  he  told  me  of  the  world  of  a 
certain  class  in  London,  but  it  was  excessively  amusing. 

In  a  letter  of  October  17,  1857,  Mr.  Latrobe  repeats  some 
stories  and,  quoting  the  language  used  by  Wykoff,  says: 

"Ah!  by  the  way,  there's  something  just  comes  to  my 
mind.  Poor  Lady  Blessington!  Poor  D'Orsay!  You 
know,  perhaps  you  don't  know,  that  I  had  the  entree  at 
Gore  House.  Every  one  went  there — all  the  men,  at  least. 
You  met  Brougham  and  Louis  Napoleon,  and  LaBlack,  and 
all  the  clever  people  about  London.  None  went  but  per 
sons  who  had  something  to  say.  Well,  I  saw  the  last 
days  of  Gore  House;  and  the  next  I  saw  of  Lady  Blessing- 
ton  was  in  Paris.  Her  coming  there  rather  annoyed  Louis 
Napoleon.  He  was  President  then  and  aimed  at  the  strict 
est  respectability;  and  poor  Lady  Blessington  living  with 
D'Orsay  terribly  outraged  the  proprieties.  But  still,  he 
had  been  a  habitue  at  Gore  House,  and  she  was  to  be  at 
tended  to;  so  he  gave  her  a  breakfast  at  the  Elysee.  I  was 
there  and  the  company  was  the  old  London  set  as  far  as 
was  practicable;  and  it  all  went  off  well.  Then,  there  was 
another  person  in  Paris,  who  had  the  same  feeling  about 
Lady  Blessington;  and  that  was  the  Marchioness  de  Boissy, 
la  Guiccioia,  Byron's  friend,  you  know,  and  all  that,  but 
who  now  moved  among  the  Montmorencies,  and  so  on. 
She,  too,  had  been  intimate  at  Gore  House;  and  so  she  gave 
Lady  Blessington  a  dinner,  and  intended  quietly  to  let 
things  drop.  I  had  been  invited;  indeed,  I  had  known  the 
Countess  well  and  had  helped  to  make  up  the  list.  Lady 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  485 

Blessington  was  there;  she  was  fifty-two  or  fifty-three, 
looked  lovely.  She  was  dressed  in  white  satin  with  tur 
quoise  ornaments,  and  her  figure,  still  the  perfection  of  ele 
gance,  was  admirable.  We  talked  of  Brougham,  and  the 
Dukes  and  the  Marquises  that  she  had  feted  in  England, 
and  it  was  pleasant  indeed.  Never  was  she  more  brilliant. 
She  said  I  must  dine  with  her.  She  had  moved  from  her 
Hotel  to  a  bel  apartement  in  the  Champs  Elysees,  and  I  must 
dine  with  her  on  Monday  (this  was  on  Friday)  to  inaugurate 
her  new  apartement.  Of  course,  I  was  only  too  happy;  and 
I  was  to  meet  O'Meara,  connected  with  the  London  Times, 
who  wanted  to  know  her.  You  may  suppose  we  were  punc 
tual.  As  I  passed  the  Concierge,  I  said,  'I  recollect  Lady 
Blessington's  suite  of  rooms  and  will  ascend  to  them.'  'Stay,' 
the  man  replied,  'do  you  know  what  has  happened?'  'No' 
I  replied.  'Don't  you  know,'  went  on  the  man,  'Lady  Bless 
ington  is  dead.'  'Dead!'  'Yes,  indeed,  she  died  this  morn 
ing  at  ten  o'clock.'  'Well,  you  may  suppose,'  continued 
Wykoff,'  what  a  shock  that  was,  but  I  sent  up  my  card  to 
D'Orsay  and  he  received  me.  The  gay,  gallant,  handsome 
man  of  the  world,  always  in  fine  spirits,  always  in  society, 
was  weeping  like  a  little  child,  so  utterly  prostrated.  He 
gave  me  an  account  of  her  death.  She  had  been  well  the 
night  before,  had  risen  in  the  morning,  complained  of  op 
pression,  and  breathed  her  last  before  the  physician  arrived. 
And  she  made  no  will,  and  D'Orsay's  wife,  Lady  Blessing- 
ton's  daughter,  who  was  then  Spencer  Cooper's  mistress, 
came  into  her  fortune,  and  when  D'Orsay  died,  which  he  did 
in  1851,  Spencer  Cooper  married  her,  and  she  is  now  Lady 
Cooper,  having  had  many  a  lover  on  her  way  from  her 
husband's  arms  to  Spencer  Cooper's.  And  by  the  way, 
went  on  Wykoff,  did  you  ever  hear  about  Mrs.  B — t's  mis 
take  at  Broadlands,  Lord  Palmerston's  seat?  You  know 


486  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Lady  Palmerston  was  Lady  Cooper,  and  you  know  the  ex 
traordinary  likeness  between  Spencer  Cooper  and  my  Lord. 
Well!  the  world  gave  reasons  for  it,  which  everybody  be 
lieved;  and  one  day,  at  a  State  dinner,  poor  Mrs.  B — t, 
looking  across  the  table  at  Spencer,  said,  loud  enough  for 
all  around  to  hear,  'Surely,  my  Lord,  I  cannot  be  mistaken, 
that  gentleman  is  undoubtedly  your  son.'  Everyone  be 
lieved  so  at  the  board,  but  as  everyone  knew  that  Spencer 
was  born  during  the  life  of  Lord  Cooper  no  one  had  ven 
tured  before  so  publicly  to  declare  it,  and  Spencer  Cooper 
married  the  Countess  D'Orsay,  and  poor  D'Orsay  was  pen 
niless.  His  sister,  the  Duchess  de  Grammont,  gave  him 
something,  but  not  much,  poor  woman,  she  had  little  enough 
for  herself.  You  know  that  anecdote  about  her,  &c.,  &c., 
&c." 

"Another  American  flashed  upon  my  Russian  winter — 
John  M.  Botts  of  Virginia — a  prominent  and  well  known 
politician.  He  had  been  employed  to  visit  St.  Petersburg 
in  the  interest  of  a  company  who  had  a  patented  dry  dock, 
if  I  recollect  aright,  to  dispose  of,  and  had  in  vain  sought 
access  to  the  Grand  Admiral;  not  that  this  high  official  was 
inaccessible,  but  Mr.  Botts  took  his  own  way  of  securing  an 
interview.  At  last  he  went  to  the  Admiralty  Building,  an 
immensely  long  building,  and  beginning  at  one  end  of  the 
main  corridor,  he  opened  door  after  door  on  either  side, 
asking  in  each,  as  he  entered,  if  there  was  anyone  of  its 
occupants  who  spoke  English,  and  receiving  the  answer, 
'Niest  penny  nie,'  or  something  sounding  so  and  meaning, 
'I  do  not  understand.'  At  last  he  found  a  person  who  spoke 
English  and  to  him  he  gave  his  packet  of  papers,  and  solicited 
an  interview  that  he  might  explain  personally  the  merits 
of  his  plan.  Having  done  this  much,  and  understanding 
that  delay  was  a  characteristic  of  Russian  negotiations,  he 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  487 

determined  to  avail  himself  thereof  by  going  to  Moscow — 
and  to  Moscow  he  went  accordingly.  When  he  returned, 
after  an  absence  of  three  or  four  days,  what  was  his  horror 
to  find  that  the  Grand  Admiral  had  sent  for  him  during  his 
absence !  He  wrote  a  letter  at  once,  explaining  the  cause  of  his 
absence  and,  with  many  apologies,  begging  the  appoint 
ment  of  another  day.  To  this  an  answer  was  given  at  once, 
regretting  that  the  engagements  of  the  Grand  Admiral  pre 
vented  his  seeing  Mr.  Botts,  and  suggesting  correspondence 
as  all-sufficient.  I  am  not  sure  that  my  recollection  is  ac 
curate  here.  I  am  inclined,  as  I  write,  to  think  that  the 
Grand  Admiral  stated  that  he  had  examined  Mr.  Botts' 
plans  and  that,  at  present  in  any  case,  there  did  not  seem 
any  occasion  for  availing  of  them.  At  all  events,  Mr. 
Botts  had  his  journey  due  North  for  nothing.  I  found  him 
a  frank,  genial  gentleman,  a  thorough-going  Virginian,  and 
somewhat  given  to  political  disquisition.  Whatever  pleas 
ure  his  visit  to  Moscow  may  have  given  him  at  the  time,  I 
doubt  whether  the  recollection  of  its  consequences  was  par 
ticularly  agreeable. 

"Returning  one  evening  after  dark  from  Alexandroffsky, 
my  coupe"  struck  some  object  with  great  violence  and  I  was 
roused  from  the  doze  into  which  I  had  fallen.  I  noticed  that 
Wassily  put  his  horses  to  a  gallop  and  soon  afterwards  left 
the  high  road,  turning  suddenly  to  the  left.  He  had  not 
proceeded  far  in  the  new  direction  when  he  stopped,  got 
down  and  blew  out  the  carriage  lamp.  It  was  some  tune 
before  I  reached  the  Hotel.  The  next  day  I  obtained  an 
explanation.  He  had  run  over  a  man,  and  was  afraid  of 
being  accused,  if  he  paused  to  see  what  hurt  had  been  done. 
In  Russia,  in  such  a  case,  the  driver  is  sent  to  Siberia;  the 
horses  and  carriage  are  confiscated  for  the  benefit  of  the 
fire  department;  and  the  owner  of  the  vehicle  is  made  to 


488  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

support  the  family  of  the  injured  party,  if  he  dies  leaving 
one.  Whether  this  was  likely  to  have  happened  here,  I 
never  knew. 

"I  resumed  my  memoranda  after  a  year's  interval,  dur 
ing  which  news  came  to  me  of  the  death  of  Madame  de  Bar- 
tholomaie.  A  little  while  before  her  death,  she  told  her 
eldest  son,  Michael,  who  is  Chancellor  of  the  Russian  Lega 
tion  in  London,  to  write  to  me  to  let  me  know  that  she 
was  no  more.  In  this  way  the  information  reached  me,  and 
it  touched  me  much  that  my  good  friend  should  have  re 
membered  me  in  her  last  moments.  We  had  corresponded 
from  time  to  time  after  I  left  Russia,  and  there  was  a  letter 
half  written  to  her  on  my  desk,  when  I  received  the  intelli 
gence  that  she  was  no  more.  She  was  a  very  gracious  lady. 

"At  the  close  of  my  Russian  visit  I  went  to  Moscow  with 
Mr.  Winans,  making  the  journey  in  four  days,  so  as  to  in 
spect  the  road  thoroughly.  After  a  short  stay  at  Moscow 
I  returned  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  in  a  week  was  in  the  Malle 
port  on  my  way  over  land  to  Paris.  Until  I  reached  the 
railroad  at  Rompling,  the  journey  was  an  abomination. 
Sometimes  in  the  coach  on  wheels,  sometimes  in  the  coach 
•on  runners,  sometimes  in  a  sled,  travelling  day  and  night, 
I  was  thoroughly  disgusted  with  the  experience  I  had. 

"At  Dorpat  in  Livonia,  I  was  surprised  when  greeted  by 
name  by  the  hotelkeeper,  with  the  unction  of  old  acquaint 
anceship.  As  he  spoke  Russ  I  could  not  make  out  what  he 
said,  to  account  for  his  satisfaction  at  our  meeting,  and  I 
appealed  to  a  fellow  traveller  who  spoke  French,  as  an  inter 
preter.  It  turned  out  that  I  had  been  taken  for  a  cousin, 
a  son  of  my  Uncle  Frederick  who  had  married  a  Baroness 
Stackelberg,  of  Dorpat,  where  he  was  a  Professor  in  the  well- 
known  University.  The  family  likeness  must  have  been 
very  striking.  One  of  three  cousins  came  to  see  me  in  St. 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  489 

Petersburg,  a  most  gentlemanly  person  in  appearance,  whose 
photograph  is  at  Fairy  Knowe.  His  mother  was  still  alive 
and  had  written  to  me  on  seeing  my  presentation  to  the 
Emperor  reported  in  the  Court  Journal. 

"On  my  way  back  to  America  I  visited  London;  and  re 
turned  to  Paris  and  sunshine  out  of  fog  and  smoke,  sailing 
from  Havre  in  the  'Argo.'  Altogether  my  visit  to  Russia 
was  a  rare  episode  in  a  lawyer's  life,  and  its  memories  often 
recur  to  me." 

We  have  Mr.  Latrobe's  account  of  his  trip  and  his  stay  at 
St.  Petersburg,  at  which  place  he  arrived  on  the  29th  of  Sep 
tember.  While  in  Russia  he  was  received  in  a  most  unusual 
way.  It  is  very  difficult  for  strangers  to  get  into  society. 
But  he  was  introduced  to  the  very  best  society.  His  record 
of  this  is  found  in  letters  to  the  members  of  his  family,  in 
which  he  described  how  he  was  received  at  court  and  his 
interviews  with  the  highest  in  the  land — the  Czar,  his 
brothers  the  Grand  Dukes  Nicholas  and  Constantine,  Prince 
Gortschakoff,  and  many  others.  He  says  that  the  display 
of  jewels  and  costumes  was  beyond  anything  that  he  could 
have  anticipated;  but  afterwards  we  find  him  stating  that, 
at  one  of  the  magnificent  banquets,  the  people  used  their 
knives  as  forks  in  many  instances.  In  fact,  the  condition 
of  the  social  life  was  rather  barbaric.  There  was  a  lack  of  re 
finement.  At  one  place  he  speaks  of  seeing  at  a  ball  one  of 
Catherine  the  Great's  Maids  of  Honor,  over  ninety  years 
of  age. 

I  recollect  that  he  told  me  that  he  was  very  fortunate,  in 
that  the  Czar  approved  of  a  very  diplomatic  speech  which  he 
made  on  one  occasion.  He  was  asked  about  his  travels  in 
Russia,  and  upon  stating  that  he  wished  to  see  Moscow,  the 
Czar  said,  "Are  not  the  attractions  of  our  principal  City, 
St.  Petersburg,  sufficient  to  satisfy  you;  why  do  you  wish 


490  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

to  go  to  Moscow?"  He  then  reollected  that  he  was  talking 
to  the  nephew  of  Alexander  1,  who  destroyed  Moscow 
at  the  tune  of  Napoleon's  invasion.  He  turned  to  him  and 
said,  "Having  seen  the  City  that  Peter  the  Great  built  to 
adorn  his  country,  I  desire  to  see  the  City  that  Alexander 
destroyed  to  save  it." 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  quick  to  think,  and  had  the  happy  fac 
ulty  of  saying  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time. 

We  were  trying  a  case  of  a  patent,  in  which  a  certain  line 
in  the  model  reduced  the  chances  of  a  time  lock  passing, 
without  opening,  the  point  at  which  it  should  open,  and  it 
was  claimed  that  this  curve  or  line  in  the  model  protected 
the  patent  against  an  infringement.  It  was  a  difference  of 
a  fraction  of  an  inch  and  the  counsel  on  the  other  side  in 
sisted  that  the  difference  was  so  small  that  one  could  not 
see  it.  Mr.  Latrobe  picked  up  a  law  book  which  was  lying 
upon  the  table,  held  it  up  and  asked  the  counsel  if  he  could 
see  it.  The  latter  said  "Yes."  "How  thick  is  this  book," 
asked  Mr.  Latrobe.  "About  two  inches,"  opposing  counsel 
replied.  "  Well,"  said  Mr.  Latrobe,  "  there  are  five  hundred 
pages  in  this  book,  and  I  now  hold  up  one  page.  Can  you 
see  it?  It  is  one  two-hundred  and  fiftieth  part  of  an  inch." 

Many  of  us  have  what  a  witty  Frenchman  described  as 
"stairway  wit."  We  think,  as  we  shut  the  door  and  pass 
down  the  steps,  of  the  number  of  things  that  we  might  have 
said. 

Mr.  Latrobe  speaks  of  the  strong  resemblance  between 
Russia  and  the  United  States,  in  that  they  are  both  new 
countries  and  have  a  great  future  before  them.  He  says 
that  the  Russian  people  themselves  remind  him  of  the  citi 
zens  of  the  United  States  in  many  things. 

He  gives  a  description  of  the  celebration  of  New  Year, 
when  everyody  kisses  everybody  else;  and  when  he  parts 


JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 
at  the  age  of  54 


.a  .\i  mm 
w.  x*  *»*  *&  **> 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  491 

from  his  valet  and  his  driver,  he  kisses  them  on  each  cheek, 
adopting  the  customs  of  the  country,  which,  I  must  admit, 
are  not  very  attractive,  in  this  particular,  to  me,  for  I  rec 
ollect  on  one  occasion  being  very  much  overcome  by  this 
custom  in  St.  Petersburg.  At  a  dinner  one  of  our  fellow 
countrymen  unfortunately  poured  out  some  vinegar  into  a 
tumbler  and  offered  it  to  a  Russian  officer  who  made  a  face, 
but  thinking  it  was  an  attempt  at  a  practical  joke,  drank  it. 
The  interpreter  explained  the  matter,  and,  in  a  moment  of 
bravado,  I  said,  in  order  to  restore  good  fellowship,  that  I 
would  drink  the  same  amount.  The  vinegar  was  bad 
enough,  but  the  kissing  that  I  was  subjected  to  was  even 
worse. 

It  will  be  observed  that,  in  1857,  he  calls  attention  to  the 
use  of  a  piece  of  lemon  in  tea  in  place  of  cream.  We  have, 
since  that  time,  adopted  the  Russian  custom;  but  we  have 
not  the  Russian  tea,  which  is  infinitely  superior  to  anything 
that  we  drink  here. 

Militarism  was  greatly  in  evidence  in  Russia  in  1857. 
Things  that  were  not  military  were  not  worth  while.  Their 
hatred  of  the  English  was  great.  The  Crimean  War  was 
just  over,  a  war  in  which  England  and  France  had  gone  to 
the  assistance  of  the  Turks  to  prevent  Russia  from  reach 
ing  Constantinople,  her  objective  for  the  last  two  hundred 
years.  Russia  attributed  her  failure  and  her  defeat  to 
England. 

In  Russia  much  consideration  is  paid  to  appearances,  and 
Mr.  Latrobe  says  that  a  man's  position  in  life  is  graded  by 
the  furs  he  wears.  In  order  to  measure  up  to  a  high  stand 
ard,  it  became  Mr.  Latrobe's  duty  to  provide  himself  with 
an  outfit  which  would  obtain  for  him  that  consideration 
which  such  things  do  in  Russia,  and  it  may  be  seen  by  his 
letters  that  fur  coats  cost  something  like  three  or  four 


492  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

thousand  dollars;  although  he  contented  himself  with  hav 
ing  his  fur  coat  lined  with  cheaper  material,  with  a  collar 
at  $200.00. 

I  have  supplemented  Mr.  Latrobe's  account  of  his  so 
journ  in  St.  Petersburg,  with  extracts  from  some  of  his  let 
ters  to  members  of  his  family. 

"October  11,  1857. 

"I  am  to  have  a  handsome  coupe  with  a  pair  of  fast 
horses,  with  an  Isrotshick  or  driver.  Mr.  Winans,  who  does 
everything  'right  off,'  sent  at  once  for  the  man  who  was  to 
furnish  this  part  of  my  outfit,  and  gave  his  orders  in  Russ  to 
the  poor  fellow,  who  stood  hat  in  hand  trembling  in  the  ma 
jestic  presence  of  two  Americans.  How  all  this  strikes  me, 
this  excessive  humility  in  inferiors.  There  is  a  Russian 
with  a  red  calico  shirt  over  his  pantaloons,  which  are  tucked 
into  his  boots,  his  waistoat  over  his  shirt,  and  his  hair  cut 
by  a  bowl,  who  brushes  my  clothes  and  attends  to  the  stove. 
He  never  sits  for  a  moment  in  the  passage  when  I  appear. 
Indeed  for  that  matter,  it  is  only  necessary  for  me  to  leave 
my  room  to  make  half  a  dozen  jump  to  their  feet  and  bow. 
.  .  .  .  Here  the  fur  which  a  man  wears  is  an  index  of 
his  eminence.  I  bought  a  paletot  or  rather  the  furs  for  one, 
with  a  real  beaver  collar,  the  most  beautiful  fur  that  is  worn 
for  the  purpose,  and  the  tailor  came  to  measure  me  this 
morning,  and  such  bowing  ....  We  saw  fur  paletots 
costing  $3,000.  Mr.  Winans  bought  sable  for  the  lining  of 
his  coat.  I  contented  myself  with  martin.  When  it  came 
to  the  collar,  fur  after  fur  was  shown.  At  last  Mr.  Winans 
selected  one  of  a  pair.  They  always  come  in  pairs  of  the 
same  quality.  He  seemed  to  want  me  to  turn  out  'just 
right',  so  I  said,  'Well,  William,  for  old  acquaintance  sake, 
we  will  walk  down  Nevsky  with  the  same  fur  outside  at 
least.  I  will  take  the  fellow  collar  to  yours.'  The  paletot, 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  493 

however,  is  but  a  part  of  the  furs  for  the  street,  opera,  &c. 
There  is  another,  and  a  more  important  called  the  'Shubi,' 
an  enormous  fur  robe  that  you  envelope  yourself  in,  coming 
down  to  your  heels.  My  cap  is  yet  to  be  procured.'  Mr. 
Latrobe  here  gives  directions  for  double  windows  to  be  placed 
in  his  house  at  Fairy  Knowe.  He  says — 'But  before  the 
double  windows  are  put  in,  set  between  them  half  a  gill  of 
salt  in  a  little  cup,  or  if  there  is  not  room  for  a  cup,  put 
salt  in  a  paper.  This  prevents  moisture  from  accumulating 
between  the  glasses.'  One  is  struck  with  Mr.  Latrobe's 
faculty  of  observing  and  his  close  attention  to  detail. 

There  is  no  more  valuable  characteristic  than  the  habit 
of  observation.  In  children  we  find  at  an  early  age,  the 
want  to  know  why?  Their  life  is  an  interrogation  point  and 
it  is  a  great  mistake  to  discourage  this  attitude  of  mind. 

The  custom  of  placing  salt  between  double  windows  is 
referred  to  in  Tolstoi's  "Childhood— Youth."  He  writes 
"When  I  returned  to  the  room  the  little  bricks  and  salt 
pyramids  were  already  lying  on  the  sill  and  Nikolai,  with  a 
wing  duster,  was  sweeping  the  sand  and  driving  flies  through 
the  open  window." 

A  friend  of  mine,  Judge  Henry  D.  Harlan,  told  me  that 
he  was  struck  with  this  characteristic  of  Mr.  Latrobe's,  of 
absorbing  minute  details.  That  it  was  his  custom  to  call 
upon  Mr.  Latrobe  to  procure  his  signature  to  the  diplomas 
issued  by  the  law  school  to  graduates.  Mr.  Latrobe  stated 
that  parchment  contained  oil,  and  that  before  you  signed 
your  name  you  should  rub  the  place  where  you  proposed  to 
write  your  name  with  a  piece  of  India  rubber  to  remove  the 
oil. 

Continuing,  Mr.  Latrobe  writes: 

"I  dine  between  five  and  six,  and  take  tea  again  in  a 
tumbler,  the  true  way,  at  nine  o'clock.  The  Nevsky,  this 


494  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

most  wonderful  street,  is  crowded.  The  military  predomi 
nates  everywhere.  As  to  the  women,  one  meets  out  of  doors 
very  few  good  looking  among  the  natives.  Nobody  is  any 
body  here,  who  is  not  a  General. 

"I  am  becoming  accustomed  to  my  daily  drive  to  Alex- 
androffsky,  and  go  it  in  thirty  minutes  at  a  spanking  gait. 
First,  I  turn  out  of  the  beautiful  street  that  I  live  in,  the 
Michelsky,  into  the  Nevsky,  the  great  artery  of  St.  Peters 
burg,  and  mix  in  the  throng  of  vehicles  of  all  sorts  that  are 
dashing  as  fast  as  horses  can  be  driven  along  it,  in  opposite 
directions,  upon  its  opposite  sides.  Rattle,  rattle,  away  I  go 
over  the  horrid  pavements,  and  pass  the  Post  Aritchkoff 
with  its  fine  statuary;  then  the  Bladimirsky,  and  after  a 
long  stretch  see  the  railroad  station  away  on  my  right;  then 
I  turn  to  the  left  a  little,  and  passing  between  long  ranges  of 
Government  store  houses  find  myself  in  front  of  a  great 
church  on  the  outskirts  of  the  City.  This  I  have  to  pass 
around,  when  I  reach  the  banks  of  the  Neva,  where  the  hay 
boats  land  their  cargoes,  and  have,  for  the  first  time  since 
leaving  the  hotel,  to  check  my  speed  among  the  hay  wagons. 
Then  I  come  to  the  Russian  Guard  House  on  my  left,  and 
see  the  sentinel  in  his  gray  great  coat  and  fancy  the  fel 
lows  at  Sebastopol  looked  just  like  him.  I  now,  generally, 
overtake  three  lancers  on  horseback  going  to  relieve  guard 
somewhere — saucy  looking  chaps,  who  peep  into  the  car 
riage  as  it  passes  them.  Then  I  find  myself  among  some 
villas  and  log  houses — villa  fashion,  and  see  away  ahead 
the  tall  chimney  of  a  cotton  factory  at  Alexandroffsky.* 
All  this  time  every  description  of  vehicle  is  passing  me  and 
the  highway  is  crowded  with  foot  passengers,  among  whom 
soldiers  largely  predominate — looking  unromantic  enough  in 

*  The  first  Cotton  Factory  in  Russia  was  erected  in  1840,  using  cotton  raised 
in  Turkestan. 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  495 

their  caps  and  gray  great  coats.  On  the  right  there  are 
bare  fields,  where  there  are  no  houses,  and  on  the  left  is  the 
Neva,  a  dark  and  rapid  stream.  At  the  cotton  factory  there 
is  always  a  crowd  in  the  road,  getting  through  which  at 
unchecked  speed  the  carriage  rattles  over  a  bridge  and  on 
the  right  is  the  immense  establishment  of  Winans,  Harrison 
and  Winans,  extending  a  long  distance  along  the  road,  at 
the  far  end  of  which  are  two  gates,  into  the  second  of  which 
I  turn,  full  tilt,  stopping  with  a  jerk  at  the  door  of  the  dwell 
ing  in  which  my  rooms  are.  I  descend,  say  to  Wassily,  my 
coachman,  who  is  on  his  box,  'Niert  schnapps,  daite  mnr, 
careta  tre  chsof,'  'don't  drink,  bring  the  carrage  at  three 
o'clock.'  He  bows,  shakes  his  head,  takes  the  horses  to  the 
stable,  and  I,  saying  'Eiastiche'  to  the  servant  who  opens 
the  door,  am  soon  busy  at  my  work,  when  I  have  anything 
to  do." 

"October  27,  1857. 

"You  should  see  me  in  my  'pelesee,'  coming  down  into 
the  hall  after  breakfast.  There  is  first  the  blue  coated 
Swiss  with  his  gold  lace,  who  springs  to  the  door,  and  shouts 
'Wassily,'  the  name  of  my  coachman.  Then  there  is  John 
the  Commissionaire,  who  jumps  up  and  takes  off  his  hat, 
and  three  other  servants  who  all  spring  to  their  feet,  and 
make  low  bows.  Then  there  is  the  German  maitre  d'hotel, 
who,  in  French,  trusts  that  I  have  rested  well  and  continue 
satisfied,  and  after  these  is  the  wellbred  landlord,  who  de 
sires  to  know  if  there  is  anything  to  be  done  for  me.  The 
'Shubi'  I  have  not  yet  had  occasion  to  wear.  It  is  a  load 
for  a  horse.  It  is  something  strange  to  walk  through  a  suite 
of  half  a  dozen  rooms.  You  reach  the  last,  in  which  are 
seated  the  lady  and  gentlemen  you  go  to  see,  and  what  is 
odd  in  these  Russian  rooms  is  the  number  of  exotic  plants 
everywhere.  All  up  the  stairs  are  boxes  of  earth,  and  at 


496  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

General  Dainzer's,  yesterday,  there  were  really  almost  flower 
beds,  with  wire  trellises,  in  the  main  or  central  apartment  of 
the  suite.  As  I  have  already  stated,  appearances  are  very 
important  in  Russia.  The  cut  of  the  coat,  the  arrangement 
of  a  dress,  or  the  character  of  the  fur,  settles  a  great  many 
people's  destiny  in  the  fashionable  world.  Tell  Lilly  that 
she  would  laugh  to  see  how  the  people  use  their  heads  for 
the  carriage  of  loads;  I  saw  five  men  yesterday,  under  a 
grand  piano,  keeping  step  with  their  hands  swinging  at  their 
sides.  They  walk  in  the  middle  of  the  street.  The  tea  here 
is  drunk  from  tumblers,  and  with  a  slice  of  lemon  in  it. 
(The  lemon  we  have  adopted) .  Their  order  in  eating  is  odd, 
according  to  our  custom.  First  soup,  along  with  what  is 
a  little  pie,  with  force-meat  in  it,  about  as  large  as  one's 
middle  finger,  which  you  eat  in  the  place  of  bread.  Then 
there  is  beef  a>  la  mode,  or  au  naturel,  or  cutlets.  Then 
comes  fish,  then  cauliflower,  asparagras  or  peas,  then 
chicken,  or  turkey  with  salad,  then  pastry  or  jellies,  and  then 
coffee,  but  the  great  thing  for  me  is  chi,  or  tea,  which  is  capi 
tal  here,  everywhere.  I  have  it  at  night  at  ten  o'clock,  and 
relish  it  more  than  I  can  tell.  I  am  known  among  the  serv 
ants  as  Ivan  Denianvivovitch,  which  they  have  settled 
down  to  as  my  real  name.  My  good  fortune  socially  has  been 
to  get  among  Russians,  and  see  their  domestic  life,  when  I 
am  the  only  person  who  is  not  a  Russ.  Last  night  I  went  to 
the  Baroness  Medem.  You  do  not  know  how  popular  I  seem 
to  be  with  my  bad  French;  how  they  get  around  me  to  hear 
me  talk,  tell  stories  and  sketch.  The  women  are  of  an  intel 
ligence  that  is  rare  in  my  experience.  They  listen  to  and 
talk  about  the  gravest  subjects — affairs  of  government,  sys 
tems,  and  all  seemingly  interest  them.  A  Countess,  I  can 
not  recall  the  name,  spoke  of  Russian  serfdom,  a  feature  of 
Russia,  in  a  way  that  would  have  become  a  statesman,  not 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  497 

in  a  fussy  way,  but  in  a  quiet,  colloquial  tone,  and  with  in 
terest.  The  others  listen  and  join  in,  and  give  me  a  better 
idea  of  the  relation  between  owners  and  serfs  than  I  have 
yet  had.  Young  women  do  not  count.  The  married 
women  are  the  ones  that  reign.  Intelligence  and  informa 
tion  are  what  gives  influence.  I  like  the  true  Russ  in  his 
domesticity,  and  tomorrow  go  to  a  family  of  distinction, 
on  the  occasion  of  their  daughter's  fete.  It  just  occurs  to 
me  to  add  that  this  is  written  by  candle  light,  at  half  past 
two  o'clock  P.M.  The  sun  was  setting  yesterday  when  I 
drove  into  town  at  three  o'clock,  and  just  rising  when  I 
reached  Alexandroffsky,  at  nine.  There  is  one  thing  that 
strikes  me  about  the  Russians,  it  takes  so  little  to  make 
them  pleased.  On  Thursday  I  went  to  the  opera,  and  saw 
the  Ballet  of  Armide,  unquestionably  the  most  wonderful 
thing  I  ever  saw  or  dreamed  of.  The  Stabat  Mater  of 
Latrobe,  my  Uncle,  is  the  favorite  music  of  the  Churches 
here,  so  De  Bock  tells  me.  It  seems  strange  that  I  should 
come  so  far  and  find  relations  and  name  known. 

December  10,  1857. 

"  Gortschakoff  is  the  real  Emperor,  the  great  man  of 
Europe.  I  was  rather  more  anxious  about  my  interview 
with  him  than  I  had  been  in  the  case  of  M.  de  Noroff." 

Prince  Gortschakoff  is  thus  described  in  "  Memories"  by 
Lord  Redesdale,  Vol.  1,  folio  228: 

"The  first  time  that  I  saw  Prince  Gortschakoff  come  into 
a  drawing  room,  I  looked  around  for  Mr.  Winkle,  Mr.  Tracy 
Tapman  and  the  poet  Snodgrass,  for  there  was  Mr.  Pick 
wick  in  person. 

"Barring  the  white  kerseymere  and  the  black  gaiters,  the 
likeness  was  complete.  The  round,  good  humored  face, 
very  pink  and  white,  the  grey  hair,  eyes  beaming  rays  of 


498  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

human  kindness  out  of  a  pair  of  gold  rimmed  spectacles,  a 
most  genial  smile,  the  perfection  of  good  manners,  pleasant 
to  everybody — altogether  a  most  engaging  personality." 

A  photograph  given  by  Prince  Gortschakoff  to  Mr.  La- 
trobe  enables  one  to  determine  how  far  his  appearance  cor 
responds  with  Lord  Redesdale's  ideal  of  the  great  Pickwick. 

"In  our  conversation,  Prince  Gortschakoff  discussed  with 
me  the  relation  between  our  country  and  his,  and  the  rea 
sons  that  the  countries  felt  so  drawn  to  each  other.  He 
spoke  of  the  size  of  the  two  countries. 

Prince  Gortschakoff:  "Yes,  there  is  a  resemblance  in  the 
great  distance  in  miles,  but  there  are  many  things  which 
draw  the  two  countries,  Russia  and  America,  together. 
Feelings  and  interests  can  be  recognized." 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "They  are  also  the  only  great  undeveloped 
countries  in  the  world,  all  the  other  nations  are  conserva 
tive.  They  have  no  development  before  them." 

Prince  Gortschakoff:  "True,  Russia  needs  development, 
the  world  does  not  know  her  capabilities,  they  are  ignorant  of 
her  productions.  In  her  development  she  will  do  much  that 
the  world  is  not  prepared  for.  The  Russians  themselves 
scarcely  know  the  capacities  of  their  own  country,  but  her 
development  is  slow."* 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "Both  countries  are  retarded  by  slavery." 

Prince  Gortschakoff:  "Yes,  it  is  so.  Slavery,  I  do  not 
like  the  word,  still  it  expresses  an  idea.  I  do  not  know 
whether  I  should  say  so;  yes,  certainly,  I  am  opposed  to  it. 
It  is  to  be  abated  here  in  Russia.  There  are  great  difficul 
ties  in  the  way,  it  must  be  a  thing  of  time.  There  are  so 
many  interests  to  deal  with.  We  must  proceed  very  cau- 

*  In  1912  her  crops  were  727  million  bushels  of  wheat,  1  billion  bushels  of  oats, 

1  billion  bushels  of  rye,  464  million  bushels  of  barley,  1  j  billion  bushels  of  potatoes, 

2  million  tons  of  sugar. 


PRINCE  GORTSCHAKOFF 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  499 

tiously;  yes,  I  think  it  will  be  brought  about.  I  will  tell 
you,  as  to  its  being  slavery,  it  is  a  name  only.  You  have 
seen  the  silverware  on  the  Nevsky.  Mr.  Seymour,  my  good 
friend  Mr.  Seymour,  has  no  doubt  shown  them  to  you. 
These  wares  are  valuable  and  are  all  made  by  serfs.  The 
stores  are  all  owned  by  serfs,  more  than  that,  many  of  them 
have  four  or  six  thousand  rubles  a  year  and  who  pay  five 
francs  a  year  to  Prince  Tchernitieff,  that  is  all.  He  is  of 
immense  wealth.  They  have  again  and  again  tried  to  buy 
themselves.  They  have  offered  one  thousand,  three  thou 
sand,  but  no,  he  will  not  raise  the  tax  on  them,  but  he  will 
not  sell  them.  It  is  a  matter  of  feeling,  one  thing  his  father 
told  him.  Well,  you  cannot  call  this  slavery — a  man  who 
gains  thousands  of  rubles  a  year  and  pays  ten  to  a  nominal 
master  is  not  a  slave.  Then,  too,  the  serfs  have  their  priv 
ileges.  I  take  a  piece  of  paper  not  larger  than  this,  I  write 
my  name,  I  give  it  to  my  serf.  He  is  a  laborer  on  his  ac 
count,  but  I  am  his  endorser.  I  must  support  him  with 
my  life's  blood.  There  is  no  absolute  law,  but  the  law  is 
one  of  duty,  feeling,  price.  There  is  no  resisting  it,  you 
must  understand." 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "We  understand  it  well,  M.  le  Prince,  in 
the  United  States." 

Prince  Gortschakoff:  "So  then  this  is  not  slavery.  But 
even  this  must  not  exist.  Time  will  do  away  with  it.  We 
are  engaged  with  it  at  present.  Still  there  are  many  dif 
ficulties.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  serf  wants  to  be  free,  be 
cause  freedom  has  been  talked  about;  but  then  again,  if  he 
is  free,  his  bit  of  land  becomes  the  property  of  his  master. 
Freed  from  his  right,  the  serf's  right  to  it,  he  says,  'I  want 
my  land;  true  if  I  have  a  master,  I  have  also  land.  I  want 
to  be  free,  but  then  there  is  the  land.' ' 

The  Prince  said:  "I  am  opposed  to  slavery  under  what 
ever  name.  The  difficulty  is  to  deal  with  it." 


500  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

He  then  said  later  in  the  conversation:  "I  do  not  expect 
emancipation  will  take  place  without  disturbance.  Of 
course,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  we  should  have  trouble, 
but  no  matter,  in  the  end  it  will  be  alright." 

"Tomorrow  I  am  to  be  presented  to  the  Emperor.  You 
would  be  amused  to  see  how  formally  my  presentation  had 
to  be  accomplished.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  Count  Tolstoy's 
note.  I  open  my  letter  to  say  I  have  just  come  home.  I 
dined  with  the  Minister  of  the  Low  Countries,  the  Swedish 
Minister,  the  Bavarian,  the  Secretaries  of  Legation,  and  a 
great  Russian  Admiral. 

"St.    Petersburg,   December    14. 

"Mr  .  Seymour  did  what  he  never  did  before,  went  with 
me  to  the  Palace,  which,  of  course,  gave  my  worship  a  more 
worshipful  character,  and  set  the  Court  world  to  wonder 
ing  who  it  could  be,  that  was  so  distinguished.  Mr.  Sey 
mour  has  been  prodigal  of  his  kindness  to  me.  The  Emperor 
is  the  image  of  his  portraits.  His  step  not  slow  or  dignified, 
but  quick  and  natural.  He  seemed  to  walk  on  his  toes. 
A  jaunty  movement,  and  at  once  spoke.  The  Emperor  is 
taller  than  I  am,  and  with  a  fine,  soldierly  figure.  He  had 
two  stars,  and  several  orders  upon  his  breast.  He  wore  a 
straight  sword  and  spurs.  His  hands  rested  one  over  the 
other  on  the  hilt  of  his  sword.  When  he  spoke  to  me,  as  his 
hair  was  cut  close  like  a  soldier,  I  observed  the  shape  of 
his  ear,  which  was  peculiar,  being  without  a  lobe.  His 
face  is  not  remarkable  for  force.  His  eyes  have  a  stare  in 
them,  which  deprives  them  of  effect  or  force,  and  they  seem 
to  me  to  be  of  a  light  color.  His  face  was  roundish  and  full. 
I  should  set  him  down  as  a  clever  man,  a  good  fellow,  of 
not  very  great  ability,  given  more  to  amusement  than  hard 
work.  I  think  but  for  his  height,  he  would  not  be  noticed 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  501 

in  a  crowd,  but  say  what  you  will,  there  is  something  in 
Alexander  II's  presence  that  speaks  the  word  "Emperor" 
pretty  plainly.  I  afterwards  met  the  Empress.  When  she 
came  opposite  to  me,  I  made  a  profound  bow,  and  I  heard 
my  name  announced.  I  was  in  hopes  the  Empress  would 
have  spoken  in  English,  but  she  spoke  in  French.  We 
had  quite  a  conversation.  I  felt  more  the  presence  of  power 
in  the  Empress  than  in  her  husband,  though  she  looked  so 
good  and  gentle,  and  seemed  to  regard  the  whole  ceremony 
timidly. 

"St.  Petersburg,  December  21,  1857. 
"A  few  days  ago,  I  received  an  invitation  to  a  ball  given 
by  the  nobility  to  the  Imperial  Family.  The  ball  was  the 
most  brilliant  thing  I  ever  saw  or  expect  to  see.  A  mag 
nificent  room,  lighted  by  eight  chandeliers,  each  having  at 
least  three  hundred  wax  candles.  The  chandeliers  were 
masses  of  chains  of  cut  glass,  giving  to  each  chandelier  the 
appearance  of  a  bright  diamond.  The  attendants  glitter  in 
gold  and  scarlet.  The  floor  was  crowded  with  dancers,  the 
display  was  dazzling.  Crimson,  white,  blue,  green,  brown 
and  scarlet  appeared  in  the  uniforms  of  the  soldiers  of  this 
vast  Empire.  The  women  en  grande  toilette  blazed  with 
diamonds  and  precious  stones.  I  met  Prince  Orloff  who  was 
in  scarlet,  with  a  number  of  orders  in  diamonds  on  his  breast. 
A  noble  looking  old  man,  erect  as  an  Indian.  I  had  a  good 
look  at  the  Emperor,  dressed  in  the  scarlet  uniform  of  a 
Guard.  He  was  a  striking  figure.  I  liked  his  looks  better 
than  I  did  on  the  former  occasion.  Mary  Worthington 
was  much  handsomer  than  the  Russian  women,  who  are 
not  beauties,  wanting  with  few  exceptions  air,  as  much  as 
they  want  beauty.  Princess  Davidoff  introduced  me  to  her 
mother,  a  queenly  looking  lady,  every  inch  a  Princess.  As 
a  distinguished  stranger,  I  was  ushered  into  the  diplomatic 
supper-room 


502  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

St.  Petersburg,  date  uncertain. 

"Yesterday  I  was  presented  to  the  Grand  Duke  Con- 
stantine  ....  I  advanced  to  meet  a  youngish  look 
ing,  bright-faced  man  of  middle  stature,  who  came  towards 
me ;  taking  a  cigar  from  his  mouth  he  spoke  to  me.  He  was 
dressed  in  a  half  military  frock  coat,  shook  my  hand  and 
cordially  said  he  was  glad  to  meet  me,  and  pointed  to  a 
chair.  His  first  remark  was  in  English,  "So  you  are  an 
American — out  and  out,  an  American." 

(The  details  are  given  in  Mr.  Latrobe's  notes.) 
"By  the  way,  I  have  now  a  valet,  Piotter.  After  my 
sickness  I  determined  I  would  have  a  servant  to  be  all  the 
time  in  my  room  and  with  the  carriage,  except  when  I 
went  to  Alexandroffsky,  and  I  am  suited  very  well  with  a 
Russian.  It  is  true  he  cannot  speak  a  word  of  English, 
French  or  German.  But  I  know  enough  Russ  to  get  along 
with  him,  having  managed  yesterday  to  tell  him  to  go  to  the 
tailor's  and  have  my  pantaloons  and  dress  coat  repaired — 
and  this  I  did  without  signs,  by  word  of  mouth  alone.  You 
would  be  amused  to  see  him  with  his  great  fur  collar  along 
side  of  Wassily  on  the  box,  and  then  to  see  him  when  the 
carriage  stops.  How  he  springs  down,  rings  the  bell  of  the 
house  I  am  visiting,  gives  my  name  'Lampode  Gospodin 
Americanskoi,'  then  jumps  to  the  carriage  door,  opens  it 
with  an  air,  offers  his  arm  as  I  step  out,  follows  me  to  the 
anteroom,  takes  off  my  paletot,  which  he  throws  over  one 
arm,  with  my  scarf  on  the  other,  my  hat  in  one  hand,  my 
galoshes  in  the  other,  waiting  until  I  finish  my  visit;  while 
poor  'Wassily'  waits  on  the  outside  uncomplainingly  and  not 
thinking  of  complaint,  hour  after  hour;  though  with  our 
feeling  I  always  say  to  him,  'Stoupai  Kanusne  damoi  a  padoi 
palasmoi  vossem  chsofe,'  which  sends  him  to  the  stables  to 
return  at  half-past  seven  o'clock,  or  at  such  other  hour  as 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  503 

I  require.  If  I  go  into  a  store,  my  servant  follows  me  in, 
and  holds  my  fur  if  I  desire  to  take  it  off,  opens  and  shuts 
the  store  door  for  me,  and  if  I  walk  in  the  street  follows  me 
at  three  or  four  paces  off.  'Plotter'  sleeps  in  the  room 
alongside  of  the  ante  chamber,  and  day  and  night  is  within 
call,  knowing  where  my  friends  and  the  doctor  live.  I  am 
only  afraid  he  will  brush  my  coats  to  pieces,  so  clean  does 
he  keep  them.  In  fact,  if  I  am  not  eight  feet  high  when  I 
return  to  America,  it  won't  be  for  want  of  change  in  my 
habits  of  life.  Let  me  tell  you,  by  the  way,  that  I  have 
gotten  entirely  rid  of  the  pain  and  soreness  in  my  left  knee 
which  has  troubled  me  for  some  years,  and  am  really 
excellently  well. 

"On  Monday  night,  I  was  in  my  usual  place  at  the 
opera  and  had  the  whole  of  royalty  within  twenty  feet  of 
me — Emperor,  Empress,  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  his 
wife,  and  the  Grand  Duchess  Marie,  whose  husband,  Count 
Strogonoff,  is  my  left  hand  neighbor  in  the  parterre.  The 
Empress  out  of  her  imperial  robes  was  not  unlike  any  other 
woman.  The  Grand  Duchess  Marie  is  very  handsome,  and 
so  is  the  Grand  Duke  Constantine's  wife.  The  toilette  of 
the  ladies  was  very  simple  indeed.  The  Emperor  sat  back 
in  the  box,  which  is  the  lowest  on  the  left  as  you  face  the 
stage.  This  is  not  the  Imperial  box  proper,  which  is  in 
the  center  of  the  row  above,  but  the  box  in  which  I  always 
saw  some  member  of  the  Imperial  family,  notably  the 
Grand  Duchess  Marie.  The  opera  was  the  Barber  of  Se 
ville,  and  it  was  admirably  performed — Bosio  playing  the 
principal  part,  with  Tamberlik. 

"On  Wednesday,  I  went  to  the  reception  of  M.  de  Noroff 
in  his  grand  suite  of  rooms  in  the  Palace  of  Public  Instruc 
tion,  and  saw  crowds  of  starred  and  decorated  persons — 
crowds — crowds.  Some  of  them  I  knew,  and  I  was  intro- 


504  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

duced  to  others.  I  had  been  presented,  and  the  St.  Peters 
burg  world  knew  all  about  the  black  crow  that  stalked  the 
halls.  The  pleasantest  part  of  the  evening  I  passed  chatting 
merrily  with  the  Princess  Davidoff,  who,  when  she  found  I 
was  willing  to.be  agreeable,  made  herself  eminently  so,  and 
took  care  to  let  me  know  she  was  single  when  I  addressed 
her  as  Madame  la  Princesse,  by  saying  soon  after  that  mar 
ried  women  always  wore  lace  at  the  back  of  their  heads, 
turning  her's  at  the  same  time  to  let  me  see  that  there  was 
none  there.  The  toilettes  here  were  admirable,  but  severe 
in  taste— rich  rather  than  striking  in  color  or  ornament. 
The  Princess'  lace  I  saw  was  rare,  and  all  she  wore  was 
costly,  but  on  the  whole  she  was  simply  dressed.  She 
amused  me  much  with  an  account  of  Russian  superstitions. 
If  you  pass  a  priest,  it  is  bad  luck  unless  you  turn  around  and 
throw  a  pin  after  him  with  the  point  towards  him. 

"  I  went  the  other  day  with  Madame  Bartholomaei  to  the 
Maison  des  Vieilles  Filles  and  the  Maison  des  Veuves  (old 
maids  and  widows),  noble  and  imperial  establishments,  both 
of  them.  What  Madame  Bartholomaei  said  about  me  in 
Russ  I  do  not  know;  but  it  would  have  made  you  smile  to  see 
the  way  in  which  I  was  treated  by  the  gray-headed  Major- 
General  and  his  staff  in  uniform  that  escorted  me  every 
where,  cap  in  hand  and  bows  abundant.  Madame  B.  said 
she  only  told  them  that  I  was  an  American  of  distinction 
who  had  been  presented  to  His  Imperial  Majesty.  But  I 
am  satisfied  she  must  have  said  that  I  was  the  grandfather 
of  the  President,  or  the  King  of  the  Pottowattamies.  I 
was  fortunate  in  getting  in  here.  The  arrangement  had  been 
made  by  Madame  B.  beforehand.  The  visit  was  a  most 
interesting  one.  Among  the  persons  that  I  saw  was  a  nun 
who  had  been  with  the  army  in  the  Crimea  and  wore  the 
decoration.  I  had  been  told  there  was  such  a  person  and 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  505 

asked  to  see  her.  She  was  sent  for  immediately — a  nice 
looking  little  woman,  the  widow  of  an  officer — officers' 
widows  being  the  only  ones  admitted  here,  where  they  are 
made  public  nurses.  She  stood  demurely  before  me  with 
her  hands  crossed  on  her  breast,  while  I  thought  of  what 
she  must  have  seen  in  the  casemates  of  the  Malakoff. 
Presently  I  said  I  wanted  to  shake  hands  with  her.  This 
is  a  great  honor  in  Russia  between  parties  so  different  in 
rank.  But  my  request  was  translated  and  as  the  little 
dumpy  hand  was  held  out  I  stopped  and  kissed  it,  as  that 
belonging  to  a  ministering  angel.  The  little  owner  of  the 
hand  seemed  quite  surprised,  but  she  smacked  me  heartily 
on  my  right  cheek  and  curtsied  to  me.  '  Americanskoi' 
was  repeated  several  times  by  the  attendant  staff  officers 
and  my  act  was  regarded  as  abzzanirie.  But  it  seemed  to 
win  all  hearts,  and  my  old  Major-General  made  me  a  low 
reverence  in  consequence.  We  know  nothing  in  America 
about  the  privileges  of  rank;  and,  as  I  happen  just  now  to 
be  associated  with  the  highest  and  it  has  become  known,  I 
have  the  benefit,  such  as  it  is,  of  distinction  and  deference, 
which,  satisfactory  as  my  association  is  at  home,  have  never 
been  experienced  by  me.  Honestly  and  truly  it  is  annoy 
ing  rather  than  grateful  to  me.  I  enclose  the  Major-Gen 
eral's  card,  for  the  good  old  man  called  on  me  the  next  day; 
also  the  card  of  Baron  Medem  of  Kass,  the  eldest  son  of  my 
good  friend  the  Baroness.  He  distinguished  himself  at  the 
siege  and  capture  and  was  in  charge  of  General  Williams 
when  the  latter  was  made  prisoner.  The  day  after  tomor 
row  is  the  first  ball  of  the  Noblesse,  where  I  am  to  go  with  a 
senator  of  the  Empire  in  scarlet  and  gold  and  orders,  while 
I  shall  be  in  black  like  my  friend  the  crow,  who  is  now  hop 
ping  about  the  street  before  my  window. 

"Yesterday  Mr.  Seymour  received  a  notice  that  I  would 


506  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

be  presented  to  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  Nicholaevitch 
and  the  Grand  Duchess  Alexandrovna  Petrovna  in  the  eve 
ning  at  seven  o'clock;  and  at  the  appointed  hour  I  went  to 
the  Winter  Palace,  and  found  myself  with  the  same  set 
that  had  been  presented  with  me  to  the  Empress,  with 
some  members  of  the  Spanish  Embassy  added.  The  pres 
entation  to  the  Grand  Duke  took  place  first  in  a  handsome 
room  in  the  Palace.  He  is  a  fine  looking  young  man,  with 
an  agreeable,  kind  expression,  and  wore  a  handsome  dark 
uniform  and  sword.  He  walked  easily  round  the  circle,  and 
asked  me  whether  I  was  English  or  American,  and  whether 
I  liked  the  Country  and  proposed  going  into  the  interior. 
He  spoke  French  to  me.  I  made  satisfactory  replies,  made 
my  bow  and  closed  the  ceremony,  for  without  diplomatic 
rank  I  am  the  last  in  the  ring  always — the  foot  of  the  class, 
in  my  black  clothes.  We  then  returned  to  the  Salle  d'Au- 
dience,  and  while  waiting  with  the  glittering  crowd,  who 
should  come  in  but  Mary  Worthington,  admirably  dressed 
and  looking  really  handsome — very  handsome.  She  passed 
through,  making  quite  a  sensation,  to  be  presented  in  an 
inner  room  to  the  Grand  Duchess,  Mr.  Seymour  accompany 
ing  her  as  far  as  the  door.  In  about  ten  minutes  she  re 
turned  and  was  at  once  surrounded  by  gentlemen.  The 
Turkish  Minister,  a  little  man  all  jewels  and  gold,  was  very 
emphatic  in  his  admiration.  Every  one  seemed  to  know  her. 
She  shook  hands  with  me  very  cordially  and  at  once  began 
to  scold  me  for  something  I  had  said,  telling  me  I  was  to 
make  all  these  men  go  to  Tamberlik's  benefit  at  the  opera, 
and  making  herself  quite  at  home  with  me;  giving  me  a 
prominence  that  I  had  no  especial  desire  for.  As  she  turned 
to  join  Mr.  Seymour,  who  had  been  absent  when  she  entered 
the  Salle  d'Audience,  after  her  presentation  to  the  Grand 
Duchess,  she  held  out  her  hand,  and  when  I  took  it  I  said, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  507 

'Well,  I  hope  you  will  forgive  me.'  'Yes,  yes,  but  kiss 
my  hand,  there,  kiss  my  hand.'  I  did  so,  and  offered  my 
right  cheek  for  a  salute  in  return;  but  she  laughed  and  said 
she  would  tell  Mrs.  Latrobe.  How  strange  all  this  is.  This 
Baltimore  County  girl — certainly  one  of  the  most  admired 
women  of  St.  Petersburg — and  I,  meeting  in  one  of  the 
noblest  palaces  in  the  world  and  enacting  such  a  scene, 
while  the  men  around — every  one  of  them — envied  me.  So 
much  for  beauty;  its  power  is  everywhere.  Mary's  fast 
ness  is  originality  here,  and  is  infinitely  preferred  to  the 
stately  poses  of  the  Princess  Dolgorouki. 

"January  3rd,  1858. 

These  good  Russians  are  a  great  people  for  observing  the 
New  Year.  I  was  invited  by  the  Baroness  Medem  to  the 
family  party — all  were  in  fancy  dress,  and  they  danced  the 
minuet  masked.  It  was  most  graceful.  Just  as  it  was 
over,  the  bell  struck  the  hours  of  midnight.  The  Company 
stood  as  if  petrified  until  the  last  stroke  sounded.  The 
band  struck  up  a  lively  air,  the  masks  were  discarded  and 
everybody  kissed  everybody.  When  members  of  the  family 
kissed  each  other,  they  asked  pardon  for  offenses  committed 
during  the  past  year.  I  had  liked  the  Russians  much,  but 
had  never  seen  this  character  so  amiably  exhibited  before. 

"Wassily,  my  coachman,  and  Piotter,  my  valet,  wish  to 
go  with  me  to  America. 

"I  cannot  make  better  use  of  the  paper,  which,  as  you  see, 
has  been  in  imperial  custody,  than  by  appropriating  it  to 
a  description  of  what  took  place  when  I  had  the  honor  con 
ferred  on  me  which  it  refers  to.  I  went  in  my  usual  suit 
of  black  to  the  place  prescribed,  and  found  that  I  had  been 
assigned  to  the  magnificent  entrance  of  the  Ambassadors, 
and  was  accordingly  marched  up  the  most  royal  flight  of 


508  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

stairs,  perhaps,  in  the  world,  by  a  plumed  gentleman,  who 
turned  round  from  time  to  time  to  see  if  I  was  following 
him,  when  he  always  took  occasion  to  bow  to  me,  into  a 
Hall  that  opened  into  another  Hall,  that  in  its  turn  opened 
into  another  Hall,  each  more  magnificent,  if  anything,  than 
the  last,  until  I  found  myself  in  the  Hall  of  Peter  the  Great, 
where  I  found  myself  in  charge  of  my  good  friend  Kon- 
drazoff,  the  Master  of  Ceremonies,  and  in  company  with 
the  Diplomatic  Corps.  But  this  time  I  strode  along  through 
crowds  and  crowds  of  officers,  in  brilliant  uniforms,  all 
turning  to  look  at  me,  made  conspicuous  by  my  black  dress, 
the  only  one  to  be  seen.  By  this  time,  however,  I  had  be 
come  accustomed  to  be  stared  at,  and  I  satisfied  my  curiosity 
as  I  walked  along  after  my  guide.  Such  splendor  I  certainly 
never  dreamed  of.  The  whole  Russian  army  appeared  to 
have  its  representatives  in  the  Halls  I  passed  through. 
There  was  no  one,  comparatively,  at  my  presentation  to  the 
Emperor,  so  great  were  the  uniformed  number  now.  A 
palace  without  such  crowds  as  these  wants  its  greatest  charm. 
Nor,  willing  as  I  am  to  attempt  it,  could  I  describe  to  you 
the  magnificence  of  the  Halls  I  passed  through,  even  with 
out  their  accompanying  crowds — where  even  a  company  of 
the  cuirassiers  of  the  guard  seemed  lost  as  it  stood  on  parade 
in  one  corner  of  one  of  the  halls,  as  it  might  be,  arraying 
themselves  in  the  recess  of  the  drawing  room  at  Fairy  Knowe 
to  make  a  tumble  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous.  I 
tried  to  recollect  some  of  the  uniforms,  but  can  only  recall 
one,  that  of  the  Cossacks  from  the  Black  Sea.  As  to  stars 
and  ribands  and  orders,  they  were  innumerable.  In  the 
Hall  of  Peter  the  Great,  my  friend  and  connection,  Captain 
de  Bock,  came  up  to  me,  and  under  his  guidance  I  went  into 
other  halls,  the  Hall  of  St.  George  among  them,  but  hastened 
back  when  I  saw  the  crowd  moving  towards  the  avenue 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  509 

along  which  the  Emperor  was  to  pass  on  his  way  from  Mass. 
There  seemed  to  be  from  two  to  three  thousand  persons  in 
uniform  in  the  Palace,  and  the  space  around  the  building 
was  black  with  the  carriages  that  deposited  them  at  its 
several  entrances.  The  Persians  and  I  got  together  again » 
and  the  Spaniards  and  Dutch  and  Swedes  and  others  re 
newed  our  acquaintance.  At  last  things  in  the  Hall  of 
Peter  the  Great  seemed  to  be  getting  into  some  order,  as 
the  Grand  Master  of  Ceremonies,  list  in  hand,  began  to 
marshal  the  various  diplomats.  I  had  met  Mr.  Seymour 
and  Mr.  Pearce  on  entering  the  Hall,  and  was  told  that  I 
would  have  to  take  care  of  myself,  as  they  would  have  to 
take  their  places  in  the  circle  arranged  by  the  grand  master 
in  the  order  of  diplomatic  rank.  As  name  after  name  was 
called,  the  persons  referred  to  took  their  places  fronting 
the  windows,  two  large  ones  with  deep  embrasures.  Those 
not  named  were  in  this  way  crowded  back  against  the  wall 
opposite,  and  here  I  found  myself  at  the  canopied  dais,  of 
one  or  two  steps  high,  which  seemed  to  have  been  placed 
there  as  a  sort  of  throne  on  a  small  scale.  Alongside  of  me 
was  a  very  tall  grenadier,  standing  at  "order  arms,""  grim 
and  statuesque.  As  I  had  become  very  tired  of  standing, 
I  took  my  seat  on  a  step  of  the  dais,  and  had  given  up  all 
expectation  of  seeing  the  procession,  which  was  to  pass 
between  the  diplomatic  circle  and  the  windows,  when  I 
heard  the  grand  master  of  ceremonies,  who  had  been  going 
regularly  through  his  list,  cry  out,  'Strangers  distingues, 
M.  le  Prince  de  Hohenlohe,  M.  le  Due  d'Ossunce,  M. 
Latrobe.'  Passing  through  the  crowd  in  front  of  me  and 
through  the  circle  of  Diplomats,  and  crossing  the  open 
space  between  it  and  the  windows,  I  was  told  by  the  Grand 
Master  to  take  my  place  at  one  of  the  windows  where  I  had 
as  good  a  place  as  I  could  desire  to  see  the  procession,  for 


510  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

the  light  was  behind  me  and  shone  full  in  the  faces  of  the 
Empress,  Emperor  and  the  rest.  At  last  the  head  of  a  col 
umn  of  gentlemen,  all  gold  embroidery,  appeared  and  moved 
forward  in  the  direction  of  the  arrows  and  disappeared, 
leaving  the  Emperor  and  Empress  at  the  head  of  the  circle 
where  I  have  marked  two  crosses  where  they  paused  before 
the  oldest  ambassador.  Gradually  they  came  down  the 
ring.  The  Emperor  was  dressed  in  a  Ge/neral's  uniform,  and 
wore  two  stars  and  four  orders,  and  looked  a  great  deal 
better  than  when  I  was  presented  to  him.  The  dress  of 
the  Empress  was  indeed  imperial,  I  cannot  well  describe  it. 
It  was  low  in  the  neck,  but  the  neck  was  covered  partially 
with  laces,  and  I  think  there  was  some  white  fur.  The 
skirt  of  the  dress  was  white  satin,  down  which  in  front  were 
stripes  of  pale  blue  embroidered  with  gold,  and  either  upon 
the  satin  or  over  it,  on  some  gauze  material,  were  little 
gold  spots  smaller  than  spangles.  I  did  not  see  the  body  of 
the  dress,  for  the  Empress  crossed  her  arms  in  front  when 
she  addressed  me,  but  the  most  striking  portion  of  her  ar 
ray  was  the  train  which  was  trimmed  with  sables,  and  was 
kept  spread  upon  the  parquet  floor  by  two  young  men  in 
the  uniform  of  the  Corps  des  Pages,  as  in  the  margin. 
Baron  Gevers  told  me  that  the  sables  alone  were  worth 
20,000  roubles.  The  effect  was  very  beautiful,  and  I  saw 
an  Empress  who  looked  an  Empress.  The  line  of  Ambas 
sadors  had  by  this  time  fallen  back  into  the  arc  of  a  circle, 
and  this  brought  me  without  moving  near  the  end  of  it. 
There  were  then  but  three  distinguished  strangers — the 
Prince  Hohenlohe,  an  erect,  soldierly  looking  man,  white- 
headed  and  moustached,  in  uniform,  with  collars,  stars  and 
ribands  countless;  the  Duke  d'Ossunce,  a  fat,  gentlemanly 
person  with  the  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece  about  his  neck, 
and  a  star  on  his  breast;  and  myself,  in  plain  clothes.  At 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  511 

first,  the  Prince  and  Duke  were  on  my  right,  but,  insensibly, 
as  the  Emperor  approached,  they  got  upon  my  left,  and  so 
preceded  me  when  addressed  by  him.  As  we  stood,  Count 
W —  (name  indistinct),  who  was  behind  me,  asked  in  Eng 
lish  some  question  in  connection  with  Finance,  to  my  an 
noyance,  though  he  seemed  taken  by  my  replies,  especially 
when  I  said  to  him,  speaking  of  the  condition  of  the  United 
States  generally.  'Drunken  men,  M.  le  Comte,  buy  more 
than  sober  ones,  and  we  in  America  have  been  drunk  with 
prosperity,  but  we  are  getting  sober,  only  to  get  drunk 
again.  These  crises  will  always  be  periodical.'  Presently 
Prince  Gortschakoff  came  up  and  shook  hands  with  me. 
Then  Prince  Adlerburg  with  his  dyed  whiskers  joined  the 
group;  then  more  of  the  High  Nobles,  till  our  end  of  the  cir 
cle  was  a  jam  almost  as  the  Emperor  approached,  I  being 
always  left  in  front  sufficiently  to  speak  to  him,  occasionally 
looking  back  through  the  doorway  upon  a  sea  of  heads  and 
faces.  When  the  Emperor  got  to  Prince  Hohenlohe,  he 
gave  a  rapid  glance  at  the  end  of  the  circle,  where  I  was, 
and  I  caught  his  eye.  So,  when  he  reached  me,  he  was  con 
siderate  enough  to  speak  English,  which  he  did  with  an 
accent.  He  said  '  Why  are  there  so  many  banks  in  Rhode 
Island?'  When  I  told  him  they  were  the  aggregation  of 
small  amounts  placed  to  be  loaned  by  men  in  whom  the 
owners  had  confidence,  the  Presidents,  &c.,  he  continued  to 
talk  with  a  pleasant  air  and  agreeable  good  humored  gentle 
manly  smile.  I  was  much  more  gratified  than  I  was  when  pre 
sented  to  him,  when  his  manner  was  more  quick  and  soldierly. 
Then  came  the  Empress,  and  she  too,  spoke  English,  and 
smiled  so  sweetly  and  gently  and  looked  so  good  and  true  a 
woman,  and  was  really  so  handsome  with  the  costume  I 
have  tried  to  describe,  that  I  could  not  avoid  feeling  as  I 
would  have  done  to  any  other  gentle  being  of  her  sex.  She 


512  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

was  far  more  attractive  than  on  the  night  of  my  presentation. 
When  they  had  thus  gone  through  the  circle,  the  Emperor 
standing  quietly  by  the  Empress,  while  she  addressed  any 
one,  we  all  made  our  reverence,  and  they  resumed  their 
progress  followed  by  all  the  Imperial  family.  I  did  not  ob 
serve  particularly  this  part  of  the  procession,  for  I  was  at 
tending  to  Prince  Gortschakoff ,  who  was  commenting  to  me 
upon  the  dress  of  the  Empress,  the  fur  of  which  he  said  came 
from  near  my  country,  the  banks  of  the  Amur,  and  which 
he  admired  excessively;  and,  when  I  turned  from  him,  a 
train  of  light  blue  velvet,  trimmed  with  ermine,  was  sweep 
ing  by.  Following  the  Imperial  family  came  the  ladies  of 
the  Court  in  the  national  costume,  and  a  collection  of  plainer 
looking  persons,  with  reverence  be  it  spoken,  I  rarely  if  ever 
saw  collected  together.  There  was  not  one  handsome  look 
ing  woman  in  the  whole  hundred.  By  the  way,  the  Empress 
wore  the  national  headdress.  When  the  Imperial  cortege 
passed,  the  ceremony  was  over,  and  the  company  broke  into 
groups.  My  friend,  General  Stolssakoff,  one  of  Russia's 
real  soldiers,  now  came  up  to  me,  in  his  grand-occasion-dress 
with  his  red  riband  over  his  shoulder,  and  his  diamond 
hilted  sabre  of  honor  for  service  in  the  field  at  his  side;  then 
my  dashing  young  friend,  Alexander  Bartholomaei,  in  his 
handsome  Hussar  dress  of  light  blue  and  silver,  with  his 
Hussar  jacket  lined  with  yellow  satin,  quite  a  picture  for 
a  picture-book,  shook  hands  with  me,  and  laid  his  cheek  on 
mine;  then  my  connection,  de  Bock,  in  his  uniform  of  Cap 
tain  of  a  Frigate;  then  Baron  Gevers  in  his  striking  dress  as 
Chamberlain  of  the  King  of  Holland  and  Ambassador;  then 
Baron  Adelward  of  Sweden;  then  my  handsome  acquaint 
ance  of  the  Spanish  Legation,  who  is  in  love  with  Mary 
Worthington,  in  his  crimson  and  gold  array;  then  du  Mes- 
san,  Kondrazoff  and  others;  all  were  chatted  with,  and  then 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  513 

we  all  disappeared,  and  the  grand  ceremony  of  the  day  was 
over.  I  descended  the  great  staircase  of  the  Ambassadors, 
and  met  the  porteurs  coming  up  to  remove  the  traces  of  the 
Imperial  Circle  from  the  floors.  In  the  Hall  I  waited  until 
Gospodin  Amerikanskoi  was  cried  out  by  the  porter  at  the 
entrance,  when  I  got  into  my  carriage  and  drove  off  to  leave 
cards  on  Prince  Gortschakoff,  Narishkin,  Count  Borche,  M. 
Ravaillon,  Mr.  Winans,  Madam  Bodisco,  Baron  Gevers 
(where  I  was  to  dine  en  petite  comite)  and  others  according 
to  the  Russian  fashion.  At  half  past  five,  after  writing  the 
first  half  of  this  letter,  I  went  to  dine  en  famille  with  Baron 
G.  and  his  wife,  and  have  a  standing  invitation  to  dine  there 
daily. 

"This  evening  I  go  to  the  reception  at  Prince  Gortscha 
koff  's,  which  he  told  Mr.  Seymour,  as  the  latter  informed  me> 
to  remind  me  of.  Tomorrow  night  I  go  to  Narishkin's,  on 
Saturday  night  I  go  to  the  Medem's,  and  the  next  week  looks 
threatening  of  more  places  to  go;  but  it  is  all  terribly  empty, 
and  far  less  grateful  to  me  than  my  New  Year's  Eve  with 
my  Russian  friends  in  their  domestic  circle. 

"No  one,  save  an  Emperor,  or  an  Emperor's  brother, 
seemed  to  have  a  house  to  himself. 

MY  VISIT  TO  THE   GRAND  DUCHESS   MARIE 

"I  was  admitted  by  a  seven  foot  porter,  in  red,  into  a 
splendid  hall,  where  I  left  Plotter  and  my  furs,  and  was 
shown  up  a  flight  of  stairs,  narrower  than  I  had  yet  observed, 
without  servants  or  soldiers  on  it,  but  richly  carpeted  and 
brilliantly  lighted,  to  a  noble  room  some  five  and  twenty 
feet  in  height,  with  statuary  in  it,  and  the  frieze  of  which 
had  designs  taken  from  the  Flaxman,  among  which  I  no 
ticed  the  fight  for  the  body  of  Patroclus,  and  the  parting  of 
Nestor  and  Andromache.  Here  I  remained  alone  for  a 


514  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

short  time,  admiring  the  beauty  of  everything  and  warming 
myself  by  two  cheerful  open  wood  fires  of  capacious  dimen 
sions,  in  which  the  wood  was  placed  on  end.  The  Spaniards 
came  in  first,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  chat.  Then  came  the 
Turks,  then  the  English,  some  of  whom  thawed  out  far 
enough  to  speak  to  me,  then  came  the  Persians,  and  I  had 
a  pleasant  talk  with  Moiza  Petros.  As  they  came,  so  they 
disappeared,  with  the  Masters  of  Ceremony  who  were  flit 
ting  about  the  while  in  their  rich  dresses.  Finally,  I  was 
left  alone  for  some  ten  minutes,  when  M.  Latrobe,  Ameri 
can,  was  called  at  the  door,  and  out  I  went  through  many 
halls,  until  I  reached  the  anteroom  of  the  Grand  Duchess. 
Here  I  found  the  lady  of  honor,  in  waiting,  and  as  she  spoke 
English  well,  I  had  just  got  into  pleasant  conversation 
when  a  door  opened,  and  I  was  called  by  name,  and  a  richly 
apparelled  gentleman  looked  profoundly  at  me.  I  looked 
through  the  open  door  and,  in  the  centre  of  a  richly  fur 
nished  apartment,  saw  a  lady  standing,  dressed  I  think  in 
gold  colored  silk  and  black  lace — a  Spanish  looking  cos 
tume.  She  was  of  a  truly  imperial  presence,  and  bore  her 
self  every  inch  a  queen,  very  handsome  in  the  face,  with 
regular  features,  a  little  passee,  perhaps,  and  inclined  to 
embonpoint,  full  decidedly,  yet  not  fat.  It  was  the 
Duchess  of  Lichtenberg,  widow  of  the  Duke  of  that  name 
and  wife  by  a  morganatic  marriage  of  Count  Strogonoff, 
my  neighbor  on  my  left  at  the  opera.  This  lady  realized  all 
my  notions  of  a  queen,  perhaps  a  queen  of  love  (but  then 
her  reputation  suggests  ideas).  I  walked  up  to  within  three 
paces  of  her,  and  made  a  low  bow  (one  keeps  one's  heels 
together,  and  bows  the  body  from  the  hips,  the  head  looking 
down,  the  hat  in  hand  always;  and  you  need  a  new  one,  with 
an  unstained  white  lining.  So  much  for  details). 

"The  Grand  Duchess  advanced  a  step  and  the  following 
dialogue  took  place  in  French: 


PALLS  OF  THE  OHIO 
Painted  by  John  H-  B.  Latrobe 


o\\\o 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  515 

Grand  Duchess:  "You  have  traveled  much  in  Europe 
and  elsewhere?" 

Mr.  L.:  "Much,  Your  Highness,  now  and  on  a  former 
visit  to  the  old  world." 

Grand  Duchess:  "You  have  traveled  much,  too,  in 
America?" 

Mr.  L.:  "Yes,  your  Highness,  one  ought  not  to  travel  in 
strange  lands  until  one  has  become  acquainted  with  one's 
own." 

Grand  Duchess:  "Very  true,  very  true,  one  should  see 
one's  own  land  first.  Have  you  traveled  much  in  Russia?" 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "Very  little,  your  Highness." 

Grand  Duchess:  "You  do  not  find  traveling  agreeable  in 
Russia?" 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "You  have  your  railroad,  your  Highness." 

Grand  Duchess:  (A  little  impatiently)  "Yes,  a  railroad." 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "And  I  found  my  journey  from  Stettin 
here  very  agreeable." 

Grand  Duchess:  "Ah,  you  came  that  route,  did  you? 
Have  you  many  acquaintances  in  St.  Petersburg?" 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "Not  many.  I  am  intimate  with  the 
American  Minister,  and  all  the  Americans  that  are  here  I 
believe  I  know." 

Grand  Duchess:  "Do  you  know  Madame  de  Bodisco?" 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "Very  well  indeed,  Your  Highness." 

Grand  Duchess:  "And  the  young  lady  that  is  with  her. 
She  is  very  pretty." 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "Quite  well,  your  Highness — Mary  Worth- 
ington  is  my  compatriot.  We  come  from  the  same  place 
in  America." 

Grand  Duchess:  "Ah,  where  is  that?" 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "Baltimore,  in  Maryland,  one  of  the  United 
States." 


516  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

Grand  Duchess:  "Maryland,  ah  yes,  Maryland,  there  is 
where  we  obtain" — and  here  with  the  right  hand  she  made 
the  motion  of  putting  a  cigar  into  her  mouth  and  with 
drawing  it  and  puffing  away  the  smoke  with  her  pretty  lips. 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "But,  if  your  Highness  will  permit  me,  we 
do  not  smoke  our  own  tobacco  in  Maryland.  We  smoke 
Havannah  tobacco." 

Grand  Duchess:  "Havannah?  Yes,  I  know  about  Ha 
vannah  and  their  cigars.  You  do  not  smoke  your  Mary 
land  tobacco?" 

Mr.  Latrobe:  "No,  your  Highness,  no  one  is  a  prophet  in 
his  own  country." 

Grand  Duchess:  "Very  true  indeed,"  said  with  a  little 
half  laugh;  and  bowing  her  head  in  a  way  that  was  imperial, 
an  end  was  put  to  my  interview  with  a  very  clever  woman. 

"Odd  that  with  every  other  person  I  was  presented  to 
from  the  Emperor  down,  I  observed  the  smallest  particular 
of  dress  and  furniture,  but  here  the  Grand  Duchess  absorbed 
me  altogether.  I  saw  her  and  nothing  else. 

"I  have  been  presented  to  every  member  of  the  royal 
family,  beginning  with  the  Emperor  and  ending  last  Sat 
urday  with  the  Grand  Duchess  Marie.  I  was  not  prepared 
for  the  splendor  exhibited  at  the  reception  at  the  Winter 
Palace,  and  the  peculiar  crowd.  A  Tartar  Chieftain,  a  Cir 
cassian  Prince,  a  Cossack  General,  and  officers  bejeweled 
and  bediamonded  and  decorated  with  orders,  all  unite  to 
make  a  most  dazzling  result. 

"Most  of  the  Russ  women  that  I  have  met  with  preserve 
a  taste  for  society  during  their  lives,  and  at  the  late  ball  I 
actually  saw  a  lady  ninety  years  of  age  with  the  costume  of 
the  day,  without  crinoline  or  being  cut  low  in  the  neck, 
however,  who  had  been  a  maid  of  honor  in  the  reign  of 
Catherine  II;  Matilieff,  I  think  her  name  was.  We  have  no 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  517 

such  female  society  in  America  as  I  meet  with  here.  Single 
women  are  nobodies;  the  married  women  are  those  who 
receive  attention,  and  are  the  rulers  in  the  ballroom  and  in 
the  Court. 

"The  more  I  see  of  Russians,  the  more  I  am  struck  with 
their  resemblance  as  a  people  to  the  Americans — the  same 
shrewdness  and  the  same  intelligence,  the  same  look  as  a 
general  thing,  the  same  manner.  There  are  many  points 
of  difference,  but  there  are  many  points  of  great  similitude. 

"Moscow,  Hotel  de  Dresden, 

February  28, 1858. 

"Here  I  am  in  the  heart  of  Russia.  I  was  four  days  in 
getting  here.  The  usual  time  is  24  hours,  but  Mr.  Winans' 
visit  was  one  of  inspection,  and  we  traveled  but  150  versts* 
a  day.  His  whole  arrangement  for  his  management  is  very 
admirable,  and  does  him  great  credit;  it  could  not  well  be 
better.  I  could  see  he  was  desirous  of  making  a  thorough 
inspection,  and  I  may  say  I  have  done  so  without  a  doubt, 
for  I  have  gone  through  every  engine  house  on  the  line.  We 
staid  the  first  night  at  Martainsky,  the  second  at  Balagoy, 
the  third  at  Tver  and  the  fourth  at  Moscow.  A  good  break 
fast  that  was  a  dinner,  then  a  dinner,  then  a  supper  that  was 
a  dinner,  and  then  Chi  before  going  to  bed.  Whistler  and  I 
slept  always  in  the  same  room,  in  their  abominable  narrow 
Russian  beds.  The  journey  was  tedious,  of  course,  but  not 
without  its  interest.  At  one  of  our  dinner  places  for  instance, 
I  walked  to  a  couple  of  Russian  villages  and  saw  the  whole 
domestic  system  of  the  peasantry  and  went  into  one  of  their 
baths — to  see,  if  not  to  take  it.  Was  invited  by  the  people 
to  take  Chi,  and  they  all  seemed  disappointed  when  I  de 
clined.  I  had,  of  course,  a  person  with  me,  for  though  I  can 

*  A  verst  is  66/100  of  a  nule. 


518  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

get  along  in  a  hotel  with  Russ,  yet  beyond  that  I  am  dumb. 
At  Klin  we  had  a  Troika  ride,  and  such  a  ride !  Three  horses 
going  as  fast  as  legs  could  be  laid  to  the  ground  in  a  racing 
gallop.  The  driver  standing  up  and  racing  like  mad,  and 
the  sled  in  which  we  were,  the  rudest  of  the  rude,  but  strong 
as  could  be.  We  went  ten  versts — four  Troikas,  like  the  wind. 
As  to  a  horse  falling,  why  he  was  dragged  until  he  got  up,  and 
then  got  beaten  for  his  pains. " 

This  reckless  method  of  driving  seems  still  to  be  the  fashion 
in  Russia.  In  a  recent  work  published  in  1916 — "Through 
Russian  Central  Asia,"  by  Stephen  Graham,  he  thus  de 
scribes  a  drive: 

"The  horses  bounding  along,  neck  by  neck;  over  hump, 
over  crevice,  over  chasm,  up  hill,  down  dale,  never  slacking 
(there  is  no  brake  to  the  wooden  arba),  coming  with  a  great 
splash  on  to  a  stream,  the  arba  just  floated  on  it,  as  the 
horses  plunged  through  it,  up  the  bank.  What  matter 
stones — even  milestones." 

The  arba  is  a  wheel  vehicle.  Mr.  Latrobe's  drive  he 
described  as  a  "troika  ride."  This  refers  to  the  peculiar 
Russian  method  of  driving  three  horses  abreast.  It  may 
be  in  a  wheel  vehicle,  a  sled  or  sleigh.  In  this  case  the 
vehicle  was  a  sled. 

"At  Moscow  we  found  a  Russ  dinner  prepared  for  us  at 
the  Novi  Troieka,  the  great  Russ  eating  house.  It  was  a 
Russ  dinner  with  all  its  peculiarity,  and  I  found  it  pretty 
good,  except  the  fish  soup,  which  is  absolutely  detestable. 
We  had  nameless  things  and  were  served  by  waiters  dressed 
in  spotless  white  from  head  to  foot,  looking  like  so  many 
ghosts.  After  dinner,  we  went  about  the  town  and  in  the 
light  moonlight  had  pleasant  sleigh  riding.  The  next  morn 
ing  Mr.  Winans  and  Whistler  returned  to  St.  Petersburg 
with  the  men,  and  I  leave  for  the  same  place  tomorrow  at 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  519 

12  M.  After  they  left,  I  got  a  guide,  one  of  their  clerks, 
and  I  went  to  the  Kremlin  and  into  the  churches  there, 
where  I  saw  almost  idolatry  and  religion  in  the  oddest 
possible  shapes.  The  churches  are  a  mixture  of  Tartar, 
Byzantine,  and  more  modern  forms,  but  quaint,  grotesque 
and  bizarre.  But  the  bells,  you  never  heard  bells  before. 
The  astounding  ring  and  yell  and  whirl  of  sound  shake  the 
heavens.  Poe  ought  to  have  been  here  to  have  completed 
his  poem  on  "The  Bells" — the  Moscow  bells. 

"The  Kremlin  is  a  walled  fortress  in  the  heart  of  the  City, 
and  you  look  from  its  terraces  over  the  City  stretched  over 
a  rolling,  hilly  ground  on  every  side,  and  literally  pierced 
through  with  spires.  There  are  four  hundred  churches  in 
Moscow,  and  all  steepled  ones  at  that.  The  great  new 
church,  and  the  Hopital  des  Enfants  Trouves  are  the  most 
prominent  objects  from  the  Kremlin.  I  went  to  the  Kremlin 
twice,  the  last  time  at  four  p.m.,  and  it  was  delicious,  after 
the  jangling  of  the  Kremlin  bells  had  ceased,  to  listen  to 
the  roll  and  swell  and  exquisite  harmony  of  the  bells  of  the 
four  hundred  churches  as  they  made  Moscow  one  great  bell, 
of  heavenly  sounding  tone.  One  of  the  gates  into  the 
Kremlin  is  the  Holy  Gate,  and  I  had,  along  with  the  rest  of 
the  crowd  that  passed  through,  to  doff  my  hat  and  walk 
under  the  long  archway  with  it  in  my  hand.  There  is  a 
soldier  who  stands  there  to  see  the  duty  performed.  Though 
the  Kremlin  is  surrounded  with  walls  people  and  vehicles 
pass  through  it  as  through  any  other  part  of  the  City.  It 
contains  the  Palace,  which  I  am  to  visit  today,  and  the 
Treasury.  Then  I  am  to  see  the  'Enfants  Trouves,'  and 
some  of  the  Churches,  and  Moscow  is  'done.' 

"Last  night  I  went  to  a  concert  and  tableaux  at  the 
Theatre  which  is  probably  the  finest  in  the  world.  That 
of  St.  Petersburg  is  small  in  comparison.  But  I  had  pre- 


520  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

viously  gone  to  the  Riding  School,  a  hall  that  is  six  hundred 
and  thirty  feet  long  by  eighty-one  wide,  under  a  single 
roof.  I  saw  the  Big  Bell  and  the  Big  Cannon,  and  the 
Long  Cannon  and  the  Little  Cannon,  for  Russia  has  cap 
tured  cannons,  as  well  as  others,  and  is  equally  proud  of 
displaying  them.  Then  I  called  on  Mr.  Claxton,  our  Consul, 
and  General  de  Bartholomaei,  the  husband  of  Madame  de 
Bartholomaei,  who  I  knew  was  here,  and  found  an  admirable 
specimen  of  a  Russian  officer  of  the  highest  grade — I  mean 
soldier  officer — well  educated,  polite,  elegant  in  manner,  and 
although  older  by  some  years  than  I  am,  with  the  vivacity 
and  animation  of  a  younger  man.  I  was  much  pleased  with 
him,  and  will  see  him  in  St.  Petersburg. 

"I  drove  along  the  bed  of  the  Moskva,  now  covered  with 
ice,  to  look  at  the  construction  of  a  stone  bridge  which  they 
are  now  taking  down,  and  then  through  various  parts  of 
the  City,  stopping  every  now  and  then  to  clear  the  ice  from 
my  moustache  and  beard  when  it  became  too  heavy  for 
comfort. 

"I  forgot  to  say  that  the  whole  country  between  St. 
Petersburg  and  Moscow  is  the  flattest  and  most  uninterest 
ing  in  the  world,  considering  all  things,  no  hills,  no  towns, 
nothing  prominent  save  here  and  there  the  dome  and  campa 
nile  of  the  Russian  Church  which  may  be  thirty  miles  off, 
.so  flat  is  the  country  and  remote  the  horizon. " 

"I  had  just  finished  the  last  page  of  my  letter  when  Mr. 
'Claxton  arrived  to  breakfast  with  me  in  company  with 
Prince  Bourussoff,  who,  hearing  that  I  was  in  Moscow,  was 
kind  enough  to  express  a  wish  to  assist  in  doing  me  the  hon 
ors.  I  found  him  a  most  intelligent,  well  educated  and  agree 
able  gentleman,  whose  first  act  was  to  invite  me  to  dine  with 
them  at  a  Russian  traiteur,  a  la  Russe,  the  only  way,  in 
which,  on  so  sudden  a  notice,  he  could  pay  me  attention, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  521 

and  so  costly  is  such  a  dinner  that  it  amounts  to  no  small 
attention.  After  breakfast,  that  is  to  say  about  11  o'clock, 
we  commenced  our  rounds  with  the  Enfants  trouves,  a  much 
larger  establishment  than  that  at  St.  Petersburg,  com 
menced  by  Catherine  II,  and  continued  by  her  successors 
until  it  has  attained  its  present  enormous  dimensions. 
Here,  in  addition  to  what  I  have  already  described  in  regard 
to  the  regiments  of  babies  and  nurses,  I  saw  the  governess's 
institution,  whose  six  hundred  young  women  are  educated 
for  the  duties  of  governesses  in  families;  and  I  never  saw 
education  in  all  branches,  even  the  highest  accomplishments, 
pushed  to  the  same  extreme  of  perfection.  We  walked 
six  miles  through  the  vast  halls,  before  we  were  finally  dis 
missed,  everybody  vying  in  doing  me  politeness.  The 
visit  was  a  most  interesting  one.  From  thence  we  went  to 
the  Kremlin,  where  I  saw  the  Treasury  to  begin  with,  in 
which  are  arranged  all  the  ornaments  and  services  of  gold 
and  silver  belonging  to  the  deceased  Emperors,  their  state 
carriages,  the  sleds  in  which  they  used  to  make  their  journeys 
from  St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow,  the  chair  in  which  Charles 
XII  was  carried  wounded  from  the  battle  of  Pultowa,  and 
the  like.  Crowns,  sceptres  and  the  paraphernalia  of  imperial 
greatness  are  here  as  common  as  children's  playthings. 
From  the  Treasury  we  went  to  the  Palace,  where  we  saw 
what  exceeded  in  splendor,  even  though  less  in  extent,  the 
Winter  Palace — the  Hall  of  St.  George  in  white,  the  Hall 
of  St.  Alexander  Nevsky  in  purple  and  gold,  the  Hall  of  St. 
Andrew  surpassing  all  the  rest.  We  then  went  into  the 
private  apartments  of  the  Emperor  when  he  is  here,  and 
then  to  the  old  Kremlin,  of  the  days  of  Boris  GadonefiE. 
Everything  quaint,  bizarre,  but  supremely  interesting.  The 
old  armor  of  Russian  infantry,  when  Poland  was  greater 
than  Russia,  was  passed  in  reviewjDefore  jne. 


522  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"From  all  this  I  was  taken  to  the  Treasury  of  the  Synod, 
and  saw  the  jewels  of  the  Greek  Church  in  quantities  that 
surprised  me,  accustomed  even  as  my  eyes  had  become  to 
jewels,  diamonds,  pearls,  and  so  on  and  so  on.  The  square 
capped  Greek  priest  who  showed  the  jewels  had  got  to 
speak  in  a  sort  of  chanting  way  and  was  as  polite  to  the 
Americanskoi  as  possible.  From  the  Synod,  having  done 
'the  Kremlin,'  we  returned  to  the  Hotel  de  Dresden,  where 
we  had  a  long  and  pleasant  talk  and  then  a  drive  through 
the  town,  and  then  to  the  traiteurs — 'Trakter'  in  Russ — to 
dinner.  The  dinner  was  an  admirable  one,  and  I  ate  enough 
roast  pig  to  serve  me  for  the  balance  of  my  life.  The  Prince 
was  the  most  elegant  of  hosts,  and  when  we  parted  kissed 
me  three  times  a  la  Russe. 

"Nothing  could  have  been  more  delightfully  hospitable 
than  his  manners.  The  Kremlin  was  before  us,  and  the 
loveliest  of  Russia's  winter  scenes  shone  on  its  battlements 
as  we  sat  down  to  dinner;  and  I  gazed  on  the  buildings  with 
an  interest  entranced  by  the  fact  that  I  was  so  soon  to  leave 
them  forever. 

Mr.  Latrobe's  next  letter  was  written  after  his  return  to 
St.  Petersburg:  "I  was  introduced  to  Lady  Woodhouse  by 
the  Baroness.  She  made  me  the  usual  curtsey,  and  then 
forgot  I  was  in  existence.  She  is  a  very  little  woman  who 
has  been  a  beauty.  She  dresses  in  a  most  immodest  way, 
and  was  clothed  in  a  "figment  of  the  imagination."  'She  is 
the  talk  of  St.  Petersburg,'  said  a  gentleman  the  other  day. 
'If  you  find  a  ring  it  is  mine,  if  you  find  a  dress  it  is  Lady 
Woodhouse's.'  The  emperor  spoke  to  me  and  talked  of  my 
visiting  Moscow. 

"This  court  life  is  a  peculiar  one — highly  artificial — but 
with  a  good  deal  of  sense  about  its  details  looking  to  the 
system  of  which  it  forms  a  part.  The  Russians  around. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  523 

noticing  the  Emperor's  manner  to  me,  commented,  I  was 
told  afterwards,  upon  his  kindness  to  the  Gospodin  Ameri- 
kanskoi!!  However,  the  Americans  were  in  high  feather 
to  night,  for  Mary  Worthington  and  Madame  Bodisco  were 
unquestionably  the  handsomest  and  most  attended  to 
women  in  the  room,  Mary  making  a  sensation  and  being 
followed  by  Princes  in  wondering  admiration  apparently. 
Her  manner  was  more  subdued  than  usual,  and  really 
she  was  a  most  agreeable  and  effective  personage.  I  was 
envied,  I  doubt  not,  by  dozens,  as  we  shook  hands  together 
upon  her  meeting  me. " 

She  married  Count  Cypriani  afterwards  and  died,  leaving 
a  son. 

"I  gave  a  dinner  to  my  friends,  the  sisters  Bulongyansky, 
at  my  apartments  at  the  Hotel  Kle.  The  last  course  was 
a  surprise.  There  are  no  bells  hung  in  St.  Petersburg.*  The 
servants  are  called  by  ringing  a  hand  bell  on  the  table,  or 
elsewhere  of  convenient  access,  and  I  had  made  six  silver 
hand  bells,  on  which  I  had  engraved  'from  the  American.' 
These  were  placed  on  their  plates  and  under  each  was  a 
copy  of  verses  in  English  printed  on  satin,  all  covered  with 
a  napkin.  When  the  napkins  were  removed,  I  stood  up  and 
read  the  verses  in  English  and  Michel  Daragan  read  a 
French  translation.  Madame  Daragan  then  rose  and 
came  around  to  where  I  sat  and  kissed  me,  and  the  other 
sisters  followed  her  example. 

"The  last  verse  reads: 

Thus  spoke  the  stranger,  and  to  each  of  those  he  loved  so  well 
He  gave,  to  call  his  memory  back,  a  little  silver  bell. 
How  oft'  they'll  ring  it,  years  to  come,  those  years  alone  can  tell; 
But  till  he  dies,  he'll  listen  in  spirit  for  its  spell." 

*  Tolstoy's  Childhood — Youth,  f.  323.  "Upon  my  ringing  the  bell,  at  the  time  a 
great  rarity  in  Moscow,  the  door  was  opened  by  a  tiny  neatly  dressed  boy."  Tol 
stoy  was  born  in  1828;  he  wrote  of  the  period  1847-1860. 


524  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

"I  miss  a  letter,  in  which  I  gave  an  account  of  a  visit 
that  I  paid  to  the  Hopital  des  Enfants  Trouves  in  St.  Peters 
burg,  which  I  recollect  amused  me  at  the  time.  After  a 
journey  through  the  immense  establishment,  I  found  my 
self,  with  the  friend  that  accompanied  me,  in  the  Chapel, 
I  think;  at  any  rate,  a  spacious,  lofty  apartment  in  the  centre 
of  which  was  what  looked  like  a  large  silver  vase.  It  so 
happened  that  the  tenth  or  twelfth  infant  that  had  been 
left  on  that  day  was  ready  for  baptism,  and,  to  do  me  honor, 
it  was  to  be  baptised  with  full  ceremonial  of  the  Russian 
church.  The  director  of  the  establishment,  a  priest,  and 
some  twenty  neatly  dressed  girls,who  formed  choir,  Madame 
Bartholomaei,  and  myself  were  the  company,  from  which 
should  not  be  omitted  the  Finland  woman  with  her  red  cap, 
with  the  baby  in  her  arms,  upon  which  the  blessing  of  the 
church  was  to  be  bestowed.  At  the  proper  time,  the  priest 
took  the  child,  who  was  stark  naked,  in  his  arms,  and  I 
noticed  that  there  was  some  conversation  between  the  priest, 
the  director  and  my  companion,  the  end  of  which  was  that 
the  baby  was  to  be  named  after  the  Gospodin  Amerikanskoi. 
This  honor  was  duly  conferred  on  the  child,  who  was  a  boy, 
as  he  was  dipped  into  the  silver  vase,  and  who  screamed  as 
loudly  as  his  little  lungs  would  permit,  until  he  was  wrapped 
again  in  his  blanket,  and  his  nurse  carried  him  away.  As  a 
matter  of  course,  when  I  was  told  what  was  done,  I  handed 
the  nurse  five  roubles,  apparently  to  her  astonishment.  I 
had  no  sooner  done  so,  than  the  choir  struck  up,  as  I  was 
informed,  a  song  in  honor  of  the  generous  American,  who, 
the  priest,  nurse  and  baby  having  disappeared,  was  left 
standing  alone  by  the  silver  vase  to  receive  the  compliment. 
Five  more  roubles  to  be  spent  in  bonbons  for  the  choir  com 
pleted  the  ceremony.  I  have  often  thought  I  would  like 
to  know  what  became  of  Ivan  Ivanovitch  Latrobvitchif 
— that  was  the  shape  the  name  assumed. 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  525 

I  remember  that  on  this  occasion  the  Director  called  my 
attention  to  the  priest,  who  was  a  remarkably  handsome 
young  man,  and  who,  the  Director  said,  was  much  to  be 
pitied,  for  he  was  a  widower,  doomed  to  celibacy  for  the 
rest  of  his  life,  the  Russian  church  not  permitting  second 
marriages  among  the  priesthood;  construing  literally  the 
injunction  of  St.  Paul,  that  a  Bishop  must  be  the  husband 
of  one  wife,  and  rejecting  the  more  liberal  interpretation 
which  declares  that  he  shall  have  but  one  wife  at  a  time. 

"Here  are  two  persons  on  whom  I  was  greatly  dependent 
— my  coachman,  Wassily,  and  my  valet,  Plotter,  both  of  them 
accomplished  in  their  respective  callings.  They  are  in  the 
dress  in  which  they  appeared  when  I  used  the  carriage, 
Plotter  seating  himself  on  the  box  with  Wassily.  Poor 
Wassily  was  a  serf  when  I  was  in  St.  Petersburg,  and,  in 
addition  to  what  I  paid  at  the  livery  stable  for  the  carriage, 
I  paid  wages  to  Wassily  to  enable  him  to  pay  his  'obiok — 'the 
sum  paid  by  him  to  his  owner  for  the  privilege  of  acting  as 
a  free  man.  I  used  at  first  to  give  him  a  rouble  from  time 
to  time  as  a  pour-boire  or  trink-gelt.  One  day,  however, 
I  got  out  of  the  carriage  near  the  statue  of  Peter  the  Great 
and  saying  'storepai  kanusne,'  which  they  understood, 
whether  good  or  bad  Russ,  as  a  direction  to  go  to  the  stable, 
was  surprised  to  see  Wassily  descend  from  his  box  and  join 
Piotter  at  the  door  of  the  vehicle  which  he  had  just  closed, 
and  begin  to  talk  to  me  in  Russ  with  ample  gesticulation. 
Presently  Piotter  joined  in,  and  there  I  was,  not  under 
standing  then  more  than  half  a  dozen  Russian  words.  It 
was  snowing  slightly  at  the  time,  and  in  the  immense  square 
there  did  not  seem  to  be  a  soul  except  ourselves.  I  was 
going  to  Mr.  Seymour's  at  the  time,  and  thought  of  reenter- 
ing  the  carriage  and  driving  there,  when  Ivan,  his  chauffeur, 
who  spoke  English,  would  interpret  between  the  master 


526  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

and  his  men.  But  no;  both  coachman  and  valet  held  their 
places  and  continued  their  conversations  and  gesticulations, 
in  which  I  recognized  but  two  words  'obiok'  and  Vodka/ 
whisky.  However,  by  means  of  the  most  expressive  panto- 
mine,  I  made  out  the  following  purpose,  as  clearly  as  if  it 
had  been  expressed  in  these  words,  'Gospodin,  you  are  very 
good  to  me;  you  give  me  roubles  when  you  are  pleased  with 
me.  Sometimes  every  day,  sometimes  not  for  many  days, 
then  with  money  in  my  pocket  I  get  drunk  and  am  in  trouble. 
So  give  me  the  same  amount,  but  at  stated  times  as  wages; 
then  I  don't  drink  whiskey,  but  go,  as  soon  as  I  get  the  money, 
to  my  owner  and  pay  my  'Obiok.'  So  I  paid  Wassily 
wages  afterwards  and  I  never  saw  him  drunk. 

"Piotter  was  an  unequalled  valet;  he  grieved  much  when, 
the  first  morning  after  his  employment,  I  refused  to  let  him 
put  my  shirt  over  my  head.  Otherwise  he  aided  me  to 
dress  daily,  and  took  care,  when  I  went  out,  to  see  that  I 
was  in  trim  array.  He  was  very  proud  of  my  furs  and 
boastful  in  regard  to  them. 

"My  friends  came  to  bid  me  farewell.  It  was  quite  a 
painful  affair;  old  Mr.  Winans,  Whistler  and  Ross  came  in 
from  the  country,  General  Bartholomaei  and  his  wife,  Alexan 
der,  the  Captain,  Michael  Daragan,  Senator  Kaphen  and  his 
wife,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ravaillon,  Mr.  Henry  Harrison,  Mr. 
Poulter,  Gov.  Seymour  and  many  others.  I  kissed  all  the 
Russians,  and  shook  hands  with  the  Americans.  I  kissed 
my  coachman  Wassily  on  both  cheeks,  his  great  red  beard 
and  my  black  one  coming  in  contact;  then  I  kissed  Piotter, 
my  valet;  such  was  the  custom  of  the  country.  And  so  I 
left  St.  Petersburg. 


WASS1LY  AND  PIOTTER 
Coachman  and  Valet  to  John  H.  B.  Lalrobe  during  his  Residence  in  St.  Petersburg 


aanovi 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  527 

TRAVELING  IN  RUSSIA 

"It  was  a  dark  night  with  spitting  snow  when  the  diligence 
on  runners  commenced  its  journey.  I  had  taken  two  seats 
and  had  the  coupe  to  myself,  and  on  we  went  in  the  dark 
and  cold  in  the  monotony  of  stage  riding.  I  had  plenty  of 
wrappings.  A  pillow  had  been  made  for  me  by  Madame 
Bartholomaei,  and  my  big  bottle,  filled  with  claret,  was  a 
present  from  another  friend,  and  I  worried  through  the 
night.  The  morning  found  me  in  a  flat  country,  but  the 
sun  was  shining.  We  dined  poorly,  oh!  so  poorly,  at  Naeva, 
and  kept  on  through  another  night  passing  through  Livonia 
now,  and  reached  Dorpat  on  Sunday  to  dine  there.  While 
in  the  Hotel,  an  old  gentleman  asked  a  fellow  passenger  my 
name,  my  face  and  carriage  being  so  familiar.  He  was 
sure  he  had  seen  me  before.  He  was  an  acquaintance,  or 
had  been,  of  my  Uncle  Frederick  and  was  struck  with  the 
family  likeness.  How  odd,  I  heard  of  the  Latrobes  here 
from  various  persons,  and  the  highest  characters  of  all  of 
them — the  very  highest. 

"On  we  went  and  now  got  into  Courland;  and  the  next 
day  at  three  o'clock  the  snow  became  so  thin  that  we  left 
our  big  diligence  on  runners,  and  got  into  a  light  open  sled, 
where  I  became  soaking  wet  with  snow  and  rain,  and  reached 
Riga  miserably  uncomfortable.  Now  we  were  put  on 
wheels,  passed  the  Dvina,  I  think,  on  the  ice,  and  kept  on 
through  the  night  and  until  the  next  day  at  twelve  o'clock, 
when  snow  again  put  our  whole  party  on  runners.  At  this 
time  we  had  ten  horses  to  the  diligence.  This  change  was 
terrible — the  sleds  were  open,  and  such  snowing  I  never  saw. 
We  were  in  the  forests  of  Lithuania.  Every  20  versts  there 
was  a  posthouse,  where  we  changed  sleds  and  horses  both, 
and  were  repacked  with  our  baggage  upon  other  sleds.  All 
that  I  could  have  imagined  of  the  dreariness  of  Russian 


528  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

travel  in  dead  winter  was  here  more  than  realized.  The 
snow,  the  gloom,  the  cold,  the  horses'  hoofs  scarce  heard, 
the  single  bell  borne  by  one  of  them,  ten  poor  travelers 
crouching  together  to  keep  warm  and  to  shelter  themselves 
from  the  snow — all  this  I  experienced  for  hours  and  hours 
and  until  we  reached  the  Russian  frontier  at  Taurogen, 
where  I  was  found  overcome  with  drowsiness,  asleep  in  the 
sled  with  more  than  an  inch  of  snow  over  me,  which  the 
driver  shook  off  as  he  roused  me.  It  was  truly  a  terrible 
journey.  At  Taurogen  we  got  some  poor  tea  and  were 
put  at  daylight  into  a  worse  sled  which  took  us  across  the 
river  and  into  Prussia.  Here  we  had  comfortable  sleds  and 
were  carried  decently  into  Tilsit,  where  we  had  the  first 
thing  that  could  be  called  good  food,  beyond  tea  and  bread, 
since  leaving  St.  Petersburg.  At  Tilsit  we  got  again  upon 
runners  for  two  posts,  then  upon  wheels  for  one;  then  upon 
runners  for  two,  and  then  on  wheels  again  for  one  into 
Ko'nigsberg,  making  so  far  a  most  annoying  and  fatiguing 
journey. 

"At  Ko'nigsberg  we  remained  until  after  dinner,  some 
seven  or  eight  hours,  during  which  I  saw  the  old  town  and 
got  a  good  dinner  after  the  German  fashion  of  cooking, 
which  is  bad  enough.  But  here  I  got  upon  railroads,  and 
the  next  morning,  after  sleeping  in  the  cars,  reached  Berlin 
by  daylight. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FIRST   MEETING   WITH   INDIANS,    1832 — CONTRACT   WITH 
CHOCTAWS  AND  CHICKASAWS,  1868 

In  Mr.  Latrobe's  trip  from  Baltimore  to  Natchez  in 
November  1832,  he  came  into  contact  at  Columbus,  Mis 
sissippi,  with  the  Indians,  who  were  then  moving  and  being 
moved  West  of  the  Mississippi.  He  says: 

"The  recent  treaty  with  the  Choctaw  Indians,  by  which 
they  agreed  to  relinquish  their  territory  in  Mississippi  for 
another  on  the  other  side  of  the  great  river  of  the  West 
had  opened  a  section,  hitherto  unknown  and  closed,  to  the 
speculations  of  the  adventurous;  and  I  found  at  Columbus, 
Mississippi,  which  is  on  the  border  of  the  Indian  nation,  a 
great  number  of  people  going  to  or  returning  from  'the 
Nation.'  Some  were  surveyors  with  compass,  some  were 
land  jobbers,  men  as  distinguishable  by  their  appearance  as 
negro  traders,  others  were  bona  fide  purchasers,  whose 
desire  was  to  settle  where  they  bought  at  once.  In  the 
three  entire  days  that  I  remained  at  Columbus,  one  of  my 
amusements  was  to  sit  in  the  bar  room  and  hear  what  these 
men  had  to  say  about  'pararas,'  as  they  called  the  prairies, 
cane  brakes,  reed  brakes,  bars,  as  they  term  bears,  'coons,' 
Injuns,  and  the  like.  I  picked  up  a  good  collection  of  slang, 
and  saw  as  strange  a  collection  of  beings  as  one  desires  to 
meet  with  in  a  summer  day,  as  the  saying  goes. 

"While  waiting  for  a  conveyance  Southward,  I  had  nothing 
to  do  but  walk  about  the  town,  and  my  path  most  frequently 
led  me  to  the  ferry,  where  I  crossed  the  river*  and  went  for 

*  The  Tom-Bigbee. 

529 


530  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

a  mile  or  two  into  the  Indian  nation  of  which  the  river  is 
the  boundary.  I  saw  but  little  to  interest  me  there — some 
wretched  cabins  of  the  same  class  and  order  as  are  to  be 
found  in  the  negro  quarters  on  a  Prince  George's  County 
farm.  The  ferry  was  more  interesting  to  watch,  as  it  con 
veyed  wagons  and  horsemen,  and  whole  regiments  of  negroes 
on  their  way  to  people  the  new  territory  obtained  from  the 
Indians,  while  droves  of  horses  were  being  driven  across  the 
stream  to  escape  the  ferry  charge.  And  when  I  went  back 
to  the  tavern  I  would  stand  at  the  door  and  watch  the  men 
in  their  blanket  great-coats  of  white,  with  the  broad  black 
stripes  appearing  in  odd  places;  for  the  material  had  been 
cut  with  no  regard  to  symmetry  in  any  respect.  Some  wore 
gray,  some  green,  and  some  great  coats  of  bright  scarlet, 
all  made  of  Mackinaw  blankets  with  the  long  wool  side 
turned  out.  On  the  second  day  of  our  arrival  we  decided 
to  go  on,  and  set  about  making  preparations  for  departure. 
This  was  easier  said  than  done,  and  numerous  difficulties 
appeared  on  every  side.  We  had  engaged  places  in  a  stage 
which  was  to  leave  that  evening,  and  while  waiting  at  the 
door  of  the  Tavern  for  the  ladies,  a  rickety  vehicle,  which 
had  once  been  a  proper  stage,  rattled  up  to  the  door  and, 
in  response  to  our  inquiring  where  it  could  be  intended  to 
send  such  a  thing,  we  were  told  that  we  were  to  be  sent  off 
in  it  through  the  Indian  Nation  that  evening.  To  trust  the 
ladies  in  this  stage  we  at  once  determined  was  out  of  the 
question.  The  next  stage  that  came  along  was  from  the 
North  and  we  pinned  our  faith  to  this ,  but  when  it  drove 
up  to  the  inn  we  were  again  doomed  to  disappointment,  as 
there  was  not  a  vacant  place  to  be  had  for  any  sum.  But 
relief  was  at  hand.  The  driver  of  the  Mail  Coach,  who  had 
taken  a  fancy,  so  he  said,  to  our  party,  offered  to  take  us  on 
for  the  sum  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  This  was 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  531 

of  course  most  infamous  robbery,  but  as  it  looked  like  our 
only  alternative  to  passing  the  winter  in  our  miserable 
halting  place,  we  decided  to  go  on,  and  on  Sunday  morning 
we  packed  ourselves  into  a  very  small  stage  and  started  off. 
"All  that  day  we  drove  through  stretch  after  stretch  of 
prairie,  the  utter  loneliness  of  which  struck  forcibly  myself 
and  my  companions.  Occasionally  could  be  seen  what 
looked  like  ants  in  the  distance,  but  on  a  close  approach 
they  would  turn  out  to  be  a  group  of  horesmen,  clad  in 
their  various  colored  great-coats.  As  they  galloped  by, 
there  rose  from  the  grass  a  noiseless  and  soaring  flight  of 
prairie  hawks,  which  after  several  turns  in  the  air  resumed 
the  rest,  from  which  the  riders  had  disturbed  them.  Some- 
tunes  we  would  pass  the  whitened  skeleton  of  a  horse  by  the 
roadside;  remnants  of  oyster  shells  that  sent  the  mind  wan 
dering  back  to  find  out  what  the  prairie  had  once  been; 
and  in  every  quarter  of  the  horizon  columns  of  smoke  were  ris 
ing  from  the  clearings  that  the  white  man  was  making  in 
the  home  of  the  Indian.  We  now  passed  Fulsoms,  a  name 
well  known  in  this  part  of  the  world  as  one  of  the  most 
influential  among  the  Indians,  the  Choctaw  tribe  being  his 
adopted  countrymen.  He  is  a  white  man  who  married  an 
Indian  woman,  by  whom  he  had  several  children.  His 
house  is  after  the  usual  fashion  hereabout.  Two  log  houses 
under  the  same  roof  with  a  space  between  them  and  a  long 
low  broad  porch  or  piazza  in  front.  An  Indian  home,  or 
one  built  by  the  Indians,  may  be  immediately  recognized 
by  the  great  projection  of  the  roof,  not  only  at  the  eaves,  but 
over  the  gable  ends,  that  are  like  pictures  of  Swiss  cottages 
that  I  have  seen.  The  door  is  very  low,  and  there  are  no 
windows,  and  greater  pains  are  taken  by  mud  daubing  and 
other  means  to  exclude  the  external  air  than  you  see  used 
in  the  cabins  built  by  the  white  settlers.  The  out-buildings, 


532  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

which  are  generally  numerous,  are  clustered  around  the 
principal  dwelling,  without  regard  to  order,  but  with  a 
decidedly  picturesque  effect;  and  there  is,  over  the  whole,  an 
air  or  character  which  is  different  from  anything  that  one 
is  accustomed  to  see. 

"Fulsom,  Greenwood  La  Tour,  a  half  breed,  but  a  man 
of  force  and  energy,  and  a  few  others,  were  the  means  of 
bringing  about  the  recent  treaty  in  regard  to  the  Choctaw 
lands.  Twenty  thousand  of  the  nation  have  already  crossed 
the  river.  From  all  I  could  learn  the  Indians  are  completely 
under  the  influence  of  the  half  breeds  who  have  received 
education  and  possess  ambition  enough  to  make  themselves 
leaders.  If  you  can  see  a  nice  farm  in  the  Nation  you  are 
told  that  it  is  the  property  of  a  half  breed;  fine  cattle,  they 
are  the  same.  If  you  hear  any  name  more  often  than  others 
in  the  mouths  of  the  people,  it  is  that  of  a  half  breed.  The 
Indians  of  the  full  blood  care  for  nothing  but  their  personal 
ease;  and  are  satisfied,  so  long  as  they  have  game  in  plenty, 
and  can  procure  those  articles  with  facility,  which  their 
intercourse  with  the  whites  has  made  necessary  to  them. 
They  care  not,  except  for  the  trouble  of  the  journey,  on 
which  side  of  the  Mississippi  they  may  rest  in  their  graves. 
The  noise  we  hear  about  Indians'  wrongs  proceeds  not  from 
the  Indian  of  the  full  blood,  I  am  satisfied  now,  though  I 
once  thought  otherwise.  They  would  say  'Chickamoo,' 
it  is  good,  to  any  proposition  which  secured  to  them  this 
comfort  and  saved  their  habits  and  customs  from  inter 
ruption.  It  is  the  half  breeds  who  have  good  farms  and 
well  cultivated  fields,  and  enjoy  and  wield  an  influence 
among  the  Indians,  which  they  cannot  preserve  if  they 
remain  on  their  plantations  which  they  want  to  keep.  There 
is  little  of  that  attachment  to  the  'Natale  solin,'  which  is 
dwelt  upon  with  so  much  emphasis  by  the  enthusiasts  who 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  533 

have  been  ringing  the  changes  of  the  Indians'  wrongs  among 
the  Indians  themselves.  Remove  every  half  breed  from 
among  the  Cherokees,  and  offer  them  such  a  treaty  as  has 
been  given  to  the  Choctaws,  and  my  life  for  it,  not  one  in 
ten,  aye,  not  one  in  one  hundred,  would  hesitate  to  remove. 
The  lex  taliones  is  in  full  force  among  the  Choctaws;  an 
eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  is  still  Choctaw  law. 
There  are  still  eight  or  ten  thousand  Indians  in  the  'Nation,' 
who  are  to  remove  in  the  spring,  and  I  constantly  meet  with 
individuals  and  families  on  the  road  journeying  or  camping 
on  the  way  to  the  Mississippi  to  the  other  side. 

"We  reached  Holderness,  where  we  stopped  for  the  night 
— a  miserable  place.  We  got  a  tolerable  supper,  how 
ever,  and  managed  to  get  thro'  the  night.  We  had  an 
unfinished  log  cabin  still  open  to  the  air  for  our  sleeping 
accommodations . 

"The  mail  came  up  at  daylight  and  was  packed  upon 
our  already  overladened  stage,  and  our  old  friend,  Major 
Dooley,  arriving  on  horseback  at  the  same  tune,  we  agreed 
to  take  him  on  with  us,  and  started  as  day  began  to  dawn, 
in  the  hopes  of  completing  our  journey  thro'  the  Nation  in 
the  next  twenty-four  hours." 

The  number  of  Choctaws  alive  in  1832  is  stated  by  Mr. 
Latrobe  to  be  28,000.  The  census  of  1910  gives  the  number 
of  the  tribe  as  15,917 — about  one-half  of  Mr.  Latrobe's  esti 
mate.  Of  these  about  1200  are  still  in  Mississippi. 

Mr.  Latrobe  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  the  Indians 
a  long  time  afterwards.  He  was  working  hard  to  preserve 
the  Union  between  the  States.  He  wrote  to  friends  North, 
South,  East  and  West,  urging  them  to  attempt  to  settle 
the  difficulty  and  bring  about  a  reconciliation. 

His  stirring  call  to  "The  States  of  the  Border,"  written 
on  the  assembling  of  the  Peace  Convention  early  in  1861, 
is  inserted  here  to  show  the  spirit  that  inspired  him. 


534  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

THE  STATES  OF  THE  BORDER 

Haste,  haste!    Men  of  the  Union  all, 

Willing  to  save  us  from  wrath  and  disorder; 
Haste,  haste!     Fail  not  to  meet  the  call 
Made  on  the  true  by  the  States  of  the  Border. 

Broadly,  still  overhead, 

Star-spangled  Banners  spread, 
Dimmed  in  their  radiance,  but  not  in  their  story; 

Hasten,  oh!  hasten  then, 

Called  by  the  Border  men, 
Sons  of  the  free,  to  restore  them  their  glory. 

Come  from  the  hills  of  the  swift  Susquehannah, 

Come  from  the  cities  that  stand  by  the  sea; 
Come  from  each  mountain  and  glen  and  savannah 
Hallowed  of  old  by  the  flag  of  the  free, 

Turmoil  is  round  us, 

Evils  confound  us, 
True  men  alone  can  restore  us  to  order. 

Come  then,  Oh!  come  then, 

Fearless  and  gallant  men, 
Come  when  convened  by  the  States  of  the  Border. 

Come,  Indiana,  Missouri,  Rhode  Island, 

Come,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Illinois, 
Come,  Jersey,  Ohio,  come,  lowland  and  highland, 
New  York  and  Kentucky,  let  none  remain  coy, 

Leave  party  behind  us, 

Its  instincts  but  blind  us, 
Platforms  must  yield,  if  it's  needed  to  save  us. 

Are  we  not  brothers? 

Then,  by  our  mothers, 
Swear  to  preserve  what  our  forefathers  gave  us. 

Come  with  no  purpose  of  force  or  coercion, 
Come  but  as  freemen  should  come  to  the  free; 

Come  with  affection  and  not  with  aversion, 
Come  not  for  contest,  but  come  to  agree. 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  535 

Then,  as  the  sunbeams 

Chase  from  the  summer  streams 
Fogs  of  the  morning  with  sickness  their  story, 

So  shall  be  lightened, 

Made  broader  and  brightened, 
The  Star-Spangled  Banner,  in  all  its  old  glory. 

Haste  then,  Oh!  haste  then,  men  of  the  Union  all; 

Palm-tree  or  pine-tree,  what  matters  the  sign; 
Thousands  on  thousands  will  tearfully  greet  you  all, 
Praying  for  each  inspiration  divine. 

But  for  agreeing, 

Anarchy  fleeing, 
End  shall  be  put  unto  wrath  and  disorder; 

And,  to  the  latest  days, 

Loudly  shall  millions  praise 
Those  who  convened  at  the  call  of  the  Border. 

Among  other  efforts,  Mr.  Latrobe  urged  upon  the  Nations 
that  they  maintain  a  neutral  position.  It  was  rumored 
that  the  Choctaws  and  Chicasaws  intended  to  join  forces 
with  the  Southern  States.  He  invited  the  leaders  to  his 
house,  as  shown  by  the  following  letter: 

"Kirkwood  House, 
Washington,  28th  February  1861. 
"Dear  Sir: 

"The  House  today  voted  down  the  Senate's  amendment 
to  the  Indian  appropriation  bill  in  favor  of  the  Choctaws 
by  a  large  majority,  the  Republicans  voting  almost  in 
a  body  against  it.  One  of  them  told  an  old  friend  and 
college  mate  of  mine  (Geo.  W.  Stevenson,  of  Kentucky,  who 
is  a  member  of  the  house),  that  the  reason  was  that  they 
understood  the  Choctaws  were  about  to  attach  themselves  to 
the  Southern  Confederacy. 

"The  matter  goes  back  to  the  Senate  for  a  Committee  of 


536  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

conference.  Everything  will  depend  on  the  report  of  that 
Committee.  Now  a  word  from  influential  Republican 
quarters  would  settle  the  whole  favorably.  The  slightest 
interest  taken  for  the  Choctaws  by  such  men  as  Governor 
Seward  or  Thurlow  Weed  would  settle  it. 

"  Mr.  Sampson  Fulsom,  who  was  present  at  the  Choctaw 
council,  says  I  was  right  in  my  surmise  in  regard  to  the 
outside  pressure  upon  the  Choctaw  council.  That  it  was 
deemed  necessary  to  assure  the  border  people  of  Arkansas 
and  Texas  of  the  friendly  feelings  of  the  Choctaws.  The 
Choctaws  dreaded  lest  some  pretext  would  be  made  to 
pour  in  upon  their  country  white  men,  whom  they  might 
afterwards  find  it  hard  to  get  rid  of.  I  felt  sure  there  must 
have  been  some  strong  motive  to  have  caused  the  Council  to 
disregard  the  advice  given  them,  viz.,  to  remain  silent  and 
to  preserve  strict  neutrality. 

"Now  if  the  Republicans  refuse  to  do  justice  to  the  Choc 
taws  because  they  are  Southern  Indians,  it  will  alienate 
their  affections  from  the  United  States  Government.  If, 
when  they  are  almost  in  a  state  of  starvation,  money  justly 
due  them  is  withheld,  because  they  are  suspected  of  dis 
loyalty,  they  will  become  disloyal. 

"As  conclusive  evidence  that  they  contemplated  no  with 
drawal  from  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  the  same 
council  passed  the  resolutions  referred  to,  and  instructed 
their  delegates  here  'to  see  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  confer  personally  with  him  as  to  the  interests 
of  the  Choctaw  people.'  The  session  is  drawing  rapidly 
to  a  close  and  the  committee  of  conference  will  probably 
report  tomorrow  or  next  day,  when  the  matter  will  again 
come  up.  If  you  can  do  anything  for  the  Choctaws,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  write  immediately  to  your  friends.  I 
hope  you  will  excuse  the  trouble  I  have  given  you.  My 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  537 

only  excuse  is  the  anxiety  I  feel  that  justice  should  be  done 
the  Indians.    They  ask  nothing  more. 

"Respectfully  and  truly, 

"D.  H.  Cooper." 
"Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe. 

"Kirkwood  House, 
Washington,  9th  March  1868. 
"Dear  Sir: 

"The  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw  Delegations  have  accepted 
the  invitation  to  'Fairy  Knowe'  on  the  Monday  next.  We 
will  come  out  on  the  train,  which  leaves  here  about  3  o'clock 
p.m.  The  Choctaw  delegation  consists  of  these  persons — 
Col.  P.  P.  Pitch,  Rev.  Israel  Fulsom,  and  Rev.  Peter  Fulsom; 
the  Chickasaw  delegation  of  old  Col.  Edmund  Pickens  (for 
many  years  Chief  of  his  tribe),  Sampson  Fulsom  and  James 
Gamble,  who  is  also  U.  S.  Interpreter  of  the  Chickasaw  tribe. 
"Peace  counsel  seems  to  be  on  the  ascendency  here.  I 
begin  to  believe  the  administration  really  means  peace.  But, 
as  old  Father  Richie  was  wont  to  say,  Nous  Verrons. 

Yours  truly, 

D.  H.  Cooper." 
"Jno.  H.  B.  Latrobe. 

Under  the  treaties  by  which  the  Indians  surrendered  their 
lands  and  moved  to  other  reservations,  the  Government 
agreed  to  pay  a  certain  sum  annually,  as  well  as  other 
amounts  for  the  expense  of  moving,  &c.  In  view  of  the 
negotiations  of  the  Nations  with  the  Southern  States,  the 
Government  withheld  these  payments  which  it  said  wrould 
simply  furnish  aid  to  those  who  would  be  its  enemies.  The 
Indians  were  in  the  midst  of  the  Southern  States;  their 
sympathies  were  with  the  people — their  neighbors.  Be 
sides,  their  fear,  as  shown  by  the  above  correspondence, 


538  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

was  that  if  they  did  not  join  the  South  they  would  be 
swamped.  The  efforts  to  hold  them  neutral  were  ineffectual. 
They  cast  their  lot  with  the  South,  and  the  Government 
repudiated  its  obligation  to  pay  what  it  owed  them. 

After  the  war  was  over  the  Commissioners  of  the  United 
States  took  the  position  that  the  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw 
Nations  had  forfeited  their  claims  against  the  United  States; 
and  it  was  proposed  that,  in  order  to  preserve  their  right 
to  the  remainder  of  the  land,  they  should  cede  one-third 
of  their  present  holdings  to  the  United  States,  to  enable 
the  latter  to  distribute  them  among  those  Indians  who  had 
remained  friendly  to  the  United  States  in  the  war.  A 
treaty  to  this  effect  was  presented  to  the  Nations. 

The  argument  of  the  Government  that  the  Choctaws 
and  Chickasaws,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  they  had  fought 
for  the  cause  of  the  Southern  States,  had  forfeited  their 
right  to  the  annuities  and  the  balance  due  them  for  land 
taken  under  the  treaty,  by  which  they  had  agreed  to  give 
up  the  land  occupied  east  of  the  Mississippi  for  a  territory 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  is  without  merit.  The 
Indians  were  not  citizens  of  the  United  States.  They  were 
an  independent  people.  Fortunately,  the  Government  did 
not  add  this  blot  to  its  record. 

The  attitude  assumed  by  the  Commissioners  so  alarmed 
the  delegates  that,  while  refusing  to  sign  the  treaty  surrender 
ing  any  part  of  their  territory,  they  announced  that  they 
would  suffer  the  loss  of  all  their  rights  to  annuities  and 
moneys,  rather  than  yield  any  territory.  A  Mr.  John  T- 
Cockrane  and  General  D.  H.  Cooper  represented  the  Na 
tions,  and  employed  Mr.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  to  represent 
them.  Mr.  Latrobe  succeeded  in  procuring  the  treaty  of 
1866.  Following  here  I  have  set  forth  the  questions  and 
amounts  involved,  and  the  results  obtained  by  the  terms 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  539 

of  the  treaty,  which  in  fact  preserved  and  restored  all  the 
rights  previously  enjoyed  by  the  Indians — including  back 
annuities,  School  Fund,  General  Fund,  and  payment  for 
land  surrendered  in  Mississippi. 

The  permanent  annuities  of  the  Choctaws,  enumerated 
in  the  Act  of  Congress  making  appropriations  for  the  Indian 
service  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30th,  1861,  amounted 
to  $35,520.  Unpaid  for  five  and  one-half  years,  they  aggre 
gated  in  1866: 

$195,360.00 

The  Choctaw  General  Fund  was $453,734. 71 

The  Choctaw  School  Fund  was 98,391 . 79         552,126. 50 


Interest  on  these  sums  for  five  and  one-half  years,  at  six  per 

cent  which  was  the  rate  they  bore,  was 182,201 . 74^ 

The  capital  sum  on  which  annual  appropriations  had  been  made 
for  "Permanent  annuities"  and  "Permanent  provision  and 
education,"  under  the  Treaty  of  1855,  was 675,333 . 33$ 


Total $1,605,021.571 

Add  to  this  the  $250,000  of  Bonds  ordered  to  be  issued  by  the  Act 
of  1861,  and  confiscated  by  the  Act  of  1862;  but  restored  by 
the  10th  Article  of  the  Treaty  of  1866 250,000.00 


And  we  have,  without  interest  on  the  last  item,  a  total  of $1,855,021 . 57| 

The  Choctaw  delegates  were  authorized  to  yield  the  whole 
of  this  large  amount,  if  they  could  only  save  "the  territory 
that  was  so  dear  to  them"  from  encroachment  or  diminution. 

In  addition  to  these  admitted  amounts  the  10th  article 
of  the  treaty  of  1866  reinstated  the  claim  of  the  Choctaws 
to  the  net  proceeds  of  their  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
which  an  award  of  the  Senate  had  fixed  at  $2,332,560.85, 
on  which  there  had  been  a  payment  on  account  of  $250,000. 
in  1861. 

So  much  for  the  Choctaws.  Joint  owners  of  the  territory, 
though  in  different  proportions,  the  Chickasaws  were  equally 
interested  with  the  Choctaws  in  the  preservation  of  it,  re- 


540  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

garded  it  with  the  same  affection,  and  were  moved  by  the 
same  considerations  in  making  the  agreement  which  they 
did  respecting  it.  They,  too,  had  large  pecuniary  interests 
at  stake. 

The  United  States  held  their  national  fund  of $1,382,947 .97f 

*On  which  interest  was  due  for  five  and  one-half  years .  .        445,867 . 78 


Total $1,828,815 . 75 

add  to  this  the  Choctaw  claims  of 1,855,021 . 57 


making  the  total  preserved  by  the  treaty  of  1866  to  the 

two  nations $3,683,837 .32 

*  $1,175,281.31  bore  6  per  cent  interest,  $141,000  5  per  cent,  and  $66,666.66f, 
5i  per  cent,  averaging  $81,066.87  per  annum  for  5|  years  from  January  1,  1861, 
to  July  1,  1866,  or  $445,867.78  as  above. 

Add  to  this  the  loss  to  the  two  nations,  had  the  United 
States  taken  from  them,  at  its  own  valuation,  one-third  of 
their  eleven  million  acres  of  land,  and  it  is  certainly  within 
bounds  to  say  that  their  pecuniary  interests,  affected  by 
their  course  during  the  rebellion,  and  admitted  by  their 
delegates  to  be  so,  in  the  preliminary  treaty  of  Fort  Smith 
did  not  fall  far  short  of  $5,000,000;  all  of  which,  with  the 
exception  only  of  the  land,  the  delegates  were  instructed 
to  yield  rather  than  that  the  land  should  be  affected,  and 
all  of  which  was  saved  by  the  treaty. 

Advantages  secured  by  treaty  of  1866,  in  addition  to  pres 
ervation  of  pecuniary  interests. 

From  another  point  of  view  these  pecuniary  interests 
were  not  the  most  important  of  those  secured  by  the  Treaty 
of  1866.  It  provided  for  the  growth  and  improvement, 
socially  and  politically,  of  the  two  nations,  and  the  adapta 
tion  to  their  condition  of  all  that  had  made  other  people 
prosperous  and  great.  It  applied  to  their  territory,  in 
minute  detail,  the  system  of  surveys  of  the  public  lands  of 
the  United  States,  and  for  holdings  in  severalty  in  place  of 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  541 

in  common,  with  a  provision  to  protect  the  ownership  of 
the  thriftless  and  improvident.  It  provided  for  the  organi 
zation,  in  all  its  departments,  of  a  general  council,  embrac 
ing  the  five  civilized  tribes;  for  the  extension  of  railroads, 
in  which  the  Indians,  in  exchange  for  the  property  taken 
for  right  of  way,  and  to  the  extent  of  alternate  sections  of 
land  for  six  miles  on  each  side  thereof,  might  become  stock 
holders;  for  the  capitalization  and  payment  per  capita,  after 
the  survey  and  allotment  of  the  lands  to  each  individual 
entitled  thereto,  of  the  permanent  annuities;  for  a  school 
system  to  be  sustained  by  grants  of  sections  of  land;  for 
the  purchase  for  $300,000  by  the  United  States,  upon  cer 
tain  conditions,  of  the  land  west  of  98°  West  Longitude; 
for  missionary  establishments;  for  post-offices;  for  putting 
the  oaths  of  Indians  and  whites  upon  the  same  footing;  for 
the  introduction  of  Northern  Indians  as  Choctaw  and 
Chickasaw  citizens;  for  the  disposition  of  the  freemen  who 
might  desire  to  emigrate;  and,  in  fine,  for  all  that  it  was 
thought  would  promote  their  prosperity  and  happiness.  It 
was  the  first  Indian  treaty  that  had  dealt  with  these  sub 
jects  in  this  manner. 

.  The  contract  which  was  made  with  Mr.  Latrobe  by  the 
agents,  Cockrane  and  Cooper,  was  that  he  should  be  en 
titled  to  receive  fifty  per  cent  of  the  back  annuities  if  they 
were  recovered.  His  proportion  of  this  was  f .  In  other 
words,  the  compensation  was  to  be  divided  between  himself 
and  these  agents. 

In  1872  the  matter  came  up  for  the  annual  appropriations 
and  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Indian  affairs.  This 
year  an  act  was  passed  making  it  penal  to  contract  with 
Indians  for  professional  services  without  the  consent  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior.  This  law  could  not  affect  Mr. 
Latrobe's  contract  completed  in  1866,  the  payment  of  which 


542  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

had  been  made  in  part;  the  balance  being  paid  as  the  annual 
appropriations  were  made  and  paid  by  the  Government. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  after  the  adjournment 
of  Congress,  submitted  a  report  made  in  the  most  vindic 
tive  language.  It  charged  in  effect  that  Mr.  Latrobe  had 
received  millions  from  the  Indians,  that  the  contract  was 
a  fraudulent  one,  because  the  Delegates  were  to  receive  a 
part  of  the  compensation,  that  the  services  of  Mr.  Latrobe 
were  of  trivial  character,  and  the  fee  exorbitant.  The  news 
papers  took  this  up,  and,  while  the  ultimate  result  was  a 
complete  vindication  of  Mr.  Latrobe  and  his  contract  was 
sustained,  it  created  a  great  deal  of  annoyance.  He  re 
gretted  always  that  the  contract  should  have  been  made  in 
his  name,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  received  only  a  small 
part  of  the  compensation.  The  general  law  being  that  an 
agent  has  no  right  to  participate  in  a  contract  made  for  his 
principal,  it  gave  a  color  or  right  to  the  attack.  However, 
the  fact  was  that  the  settled  policy  of  both  the  Chocktaw  and 
Chickasaw  Nations  was  for  years  to  require  the  delegates  to  pay 
their  own  expenses  in  "visiting  Washington  for  the  prosecution 
of  claims,  and  look  to  the  fees  or  profits  in  said  business  for 
their  compensation.  Not  only  was  this  the  policy,  but  in  prior 
cases  it  had  been  done  and  this  action  and  the  contract  had 
been  ratified  by  the  Nations  with  knowledge. 

In  1873  Mr.  Latrobe  published  an  address  to  the  Choctaw 
and  Chickasaw  Nations  placing  the  whole  matter  before 
them  in  answer  to  the  charge  that  the  fee  was  exorbitant, 
and  the  services  small.  He  said: 

"The  late  Chairman  evidently  regards  this  as  a  case  of 
professional  extortion;  but  I  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting 
that,  had  the  entire  sum,  of  which  I  received  but  one-sixth, 
been  my  own  particular  fee,  there  is  not  a  member  of  my 
profession  of  any  standing,  who  would  be  willing  to  say 


AND  HIS  TIMES   1803-1891  543 

that,  contingent  as  it  was,  and  measuring  it  by  the  interests 
at  stake  and  the  results  accomplished,  it  would  have  been 
more  than  I  was  entitled  to. 

"It  has  been  said  there  was  no  merit  in  its  negotiation, 
and  that  another  could  have  done  all  that  I  did  and  for 
much  less  compensation.  To  pretend  that  I  was  the  only 
person  who  could  have  prepared  and  negotiated  it,  would  be 
as  absurd  as  it  would  be  idle  to  assert.  Another  could  have 
prepared  the  10th  Article,  which  reaffirmed  all  obligations 
of  the  United  States  arising  'from  treaty  stipulations  or  acts 
of  legislation,'  and  which  preserved  to  the  two  nations  all 
that  the  Choctaw  delegates  had  been  instructed  to  yield 
for  the  preservation  of  their  land;  or  the  45th  Article  which 
reinstated  them  in  all  their  rights,  privileges  and  immuni 
ties;  and  others,  doubtless,  could  have  devised  all  that  has 
above  been  enumerated.  Still,  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  do  this; 
and,  whether  ill  done  or  well  done,  the  work  was  mine.  To 
say  that  the  treaty,  or  anything  like  it,  was  prepared  at  the 
Department  is  to  misrepresent  the  fact.  Competent  as  was 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  or  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  to  suggest  and  prepare  just  such  a  treaty  as  was 
made,  it  so  happened  that  on  this  occasion  their  part  of  the 
work  was  to  discuss  what  was  offered  to  them.  The  treaty 
itself  was  prepared  by  me  in  consultations  with  your  dele 
gates,  held  day  after  day,  during  the  winter  of  1865-6;  al 
tered,  amended,  changed  and  improved  until  the  nine  arti 
cles  of  the  project  of  Fort  Smith,  which  were  all  that  the 
Indian  Bureau  proposed  in  the  first  instance  as  a  basis,  were 
expanded  into  fifty-one  articles  of  the  treaty  that  was  finally 
ratified  by  the  Senate." 

Turning  now  to  what  Mr.  Latrobe  is  pleased  to  call  the 
"Memoranda  of  life"  he  writes: 

"The  remainder  of  these  memoranda  will  aim  at  no  con- 


544  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

nections,  and  is  written  after  my  seventy-fifth  year  which 
I  reached  on  the  4th  of  May,  1878. 

"In  1865  I  was  employed  by  the  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw 
Nations.  They  were  on  their  way  to  Washington  under 
the  impression  that  the  consequence  of  the  part  they  took 
in  the  Civil  War  was  that  their  treaties  with  the  United 
States  had  become  nullities,  and  they  were  at  the  mercy  of 
the  Government.  After  a  brief  interview  in  Baltimore,  they 
proceeded  to  the  Capital  and  left  me  to  examine  the  law 
bearing  on  their  relations.  I  found  that  they  were  mis 
taken  in  regard  to  the  abrogation  of  the  treaties.  Congress 
had  authorized  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  abro 
gate  them  if  he  thought  it  could  be  done  consistently  with 
national  honor.  The  war  had  ended  and  there  had  been 
no  proclamaion  to  their  prejudice,  and  now  it  was  too  late. 
This  was  a  great  comfort  to  the  delegates,  and  I  was  at 
once  authorized  to  negotiate  a  new  treaty.  This  I  did, 
passing  a  great  part  of  the  winter  of  1865-66  in  Washington. 
The  Treaty  of  1866  is  my  work  and  will  speak  for  itself. 
It  makes  provision  for  subjects  looking  to  the  civilization 
and  improvement  of  the  new  nations,  all  of  which  I  sug 
gested  and  persuaded  the  delegates  to  consent  to.  When 
the  treaty  was  before  the  Senate  it  was  spoken  of  in  terms 
of  praise,  and  I  regard  it  as  one  of  the  creditable  efforts  of 
my  professional  life.  It  has  involved  me  in  much  trouble 
and  subjected  me  to  much  mortification.  I  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  compensation  part  of  it.  That  was  settled  by 
General  D.  H.  Cooper,  who  had  introduced  the  Indians  to 
me.  With  General  Cooper  was  joined  Mr.  John  D.  Cock- 
rane,  of  Washington,  and  the  two  transacted  what  business 
there  was  that  partook  of  the  nature  of  lobbying.  By  them 
I  was  informed  the  compensation  for  services,  present  and 
prospective,  was  $100,000  from  each  of  the  nations,  which 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  545 

was  to  be  divided  between  Cooper,  Cockrane  and  myself  as 
to  $50,000,  and  $50,000  was  to  be  distributed  among  the 
delegates  for  services  that  were  to  be  rendered  by  them  in 
connection  with  claims  that  were  still  to  be  prosecuted.  I 
received  my  share,  $16,000  from  Mr.  Cockrane,  who  made 
the  settlement  on  the  part  of  the  Choctaws,  and  some 
$10,000  or  thereabouts  from  the  Chickasaws,  the  settlement 
then  becoming  complicated  in  some  way  that  I  never  clearly 
understood.  I  was  in  Europe  at  the  time  and  my  son  Fer 
dinand  acted  for  me.  Cooper  had  been  a  General  under 
the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  Cockrane  was  a  Secessionist, 
while  I  was  a  Union  man.  Hence  the  contract  was  made  by 
Cooper  and  Cockrane  in  my  name,  and  without  any  formal 
execution  of  it  by  me  became  binding  upon  me,  and  when 
the  money  was  paid  under  the  contract  I  signed  the  receipt. 
The  Chickasaws,  by  an  Act  of  their  Legislature  passed  the 
year  after  it  was  made  and  the  money  paid,  ratified  and 
confirmed  it,  and  the  Choctaws  understood  it — the  Choctaw 
people — I  was  fully  assured.  But  as  time  rolled  on,  political 
parties  in  the  two  nations  becoming  embittered,  the  La- 
trobe  contract,  as  it  was  called,  was  brought  before  Con 
gress  and  was  referred  to  a  Committee  at  the  head  of  which 
was  a  member  who,  without  malice. I  may  say,  was  desirous 
to  become  the  agent  for  the  Indians  in  the  prosecution  of 
their  claims  in  the  United  States;  and  obtaining  leave  of  his 
Committee  to  write  the  report  after  the  adjournment  of 
Congress,  remained  in  Washington  and  published  a  mass  of 
vituperation  that  has  probably  rarely  been  equalled.  To 
this  I  wrote  a  reply,  which  I  published;  copies  of  it  are  to 
be  found  among  my  papers.  I  do  not  go  over  the  grounds  of 
it  now.  It  states  what  I  did  and  contends  that  had  the 
whole  amount  charged  gone  into  my  pocket,  the  compensa 
tion  would  have  been  not  more  than  was  my  due.  Among 


546  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

my  papers,  too,  will,  I  think,  be  found  newspaper  articles 
that  I  have  had  occasion  to  write  from  time  to  time  in  this 
connection.  We  are  all  wise  after  the  event,  and  were  the 
matter  to  be  gone  over  again,  I  would  not  have  allowed  my 
name  to  be  used  or  have  receipted  for  the  compensation. 
My  error  was  in  allowing  others  to  act  for  me  and  in  taking 
for  granted  all  they  represented,  satisfied  in  doing  my  part 
of  the  work,  and  I  might  say  all  of  it,  regarding  the  payment 
of  my  portion  of  the  fee  the  end  of  it.  Years  rolled  on  and 
the  matter  died  out,  the  world  got  interested  in  other  mat 
ters,  and  I  was  forgotten  in  this  connection,  remembering 
the  subject,  however,  always  with  pain  and  mortification. 

"In  this  connection  I  ought  to  say  that,  when  I  read  my 
address  to  the  Indians  to  my  friends,  Reverdy  Johnson  and 
S.  Teackle  Wallis,  they  both  regarded  it  as  conclusive, 
Mr.  Wallis  making  some  suggestions  that  I  adopted.  Mr. 
Johnson  went  further.  He  addressed  letters,  wholly  unbe 
known  to  me,  to  the  Chancellor  of  New  York,  to  David 
Dudley  Field  and  Mr.  Stoughton,  enclosing  copies  of  the 
address,  and  sent  me  their  replies  expressing  their  satisfac 
tion  with  my  statement,  and  regarding  it  as  altogether  suf 
ficient  for  my  vindication.  Mr.  Johnson  wrote  me  a  note 
enclosing  them  in  which  he  said  that  if  litigation  was  ever 
connected  with  the  matter,  I  was  to  regard  him  as  my  coun 
sel  without  remuneration.  Of  Johnson's  kindness  I  cannot 
say  too  much.  If  there  is  one  who  reverences  his  memory, 
I  am  the  man. 

"I  made  a  mistake  in  the  business,  however.  My  wife 
was  bitterly  adverse  to  any  notoriety.  I  ought  to  have 
sued  the  author  of  the  report  for  libel,  for  the  report  was  his 
individual  act  and  not  protected  under  the  circumstances  by 
his  position  in  Congress,  but  my  wife  so  bitterly  opposed  my 
doing  anything  to  give  occasion  for  newspaper  comment, 


AND  HIS  TIMES,  1803-1891  547 

that  I  let  the  matter  die.  The  story  is  a  long  one,  but  my 
address  to  the  Indians  contains  my  vindication,  and  to 
this  my  children  must  refer  when  I  am  gone." 

It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that  in  his  journey  to  the 
Mississippi,  Mr.  Latrobe  went  through  the  reservations  of 
the  Indian  nations  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  described 
them  very  fully  in  his  letters;  little  anticipating  that  thirty- 
three  years  afterwards,  he  would  represent  them  in  their 
struggle  to  retain  their  lands  declared  forfeited  to  the 
United  States  for  their  hostility  during  the  Civil  War. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

MR.  LATROBE'S  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  FIRST  TELEGRAPH 
COMPANY — DRUID  HILL  PARK — EDGAR  ALLAN  POE — 
LAST  CASE  IN  THE  COURT  OF  APPEALS  OF  MARYLAND — 
LAST  YEARS  1881-1891 

John  H.  B.  Latrobe  bears  the  remarkable  and  unique  dis 
tinction  of  having  been  intimately  associated  with  the  two 
great  inventions  of  the  nineteenth  century,  from  their  first 
commercial  exploitation  in  this  country — the  steam  rail 
road  and  the  electric  telegraph. 

I  have  already  referred  to  his  meeting  with  Morse.  This 
resulted  in  the  incorporation,  under  the  Acts  of  Assembly 
of  1846,  Ch.  36,  passed  Feb.  4,  1847,  of  the  Magnetic  Tele 
graph  Company  and  the  Western  Telegraph  Company.  It 
seems  that  both  of  these  companies  were  incorporated  under 
one  Act,  the  Magnetic  Telegraph  Company  to  conduct  and 
carry  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph,  invented  by  Morse, 
from  the  City  of  Washington  to  the  City  of  New  York;  the 
other,  under  the  13th  Section,  to  build  the  Morse  electro 
magnetic  telegraph  on  the  road  from  Baltimore  to  the  west 
ern  limits  of  the  State.  There  was  an  appropriation  by 
Congress  about  this  time,  which  enabled  a  line  to  be  built 
along  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  from  Baltimore  to 
Washingon;  and  over  this  line  the  first  message,  ever  sent 
by  electricity,  traveled.  The  message,  sent  by  Miss  Ells 
worth,  was  "What  hath  God  wrought."  From  this  begin 
ning  has  been  developed  the  immense  electrical  business  for 
transmission  of  news,  which  places  at  the  breakfast  table 
the  particulars  of  the  transactions  and  occurrences  over  the 
whole  world. 

548 


:•      RECEIPT  Gl YEN  TO  JOHN  H.  B.  LA  TROBE 

As  one  of  the  Subscribers  to  the  fir  si  Telegraph  Company  ever  Organized 


.a.  ,H  TAEO\  01 

't^^ 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  549 

I  have  before  me  the  following  paper: 

"'No.  194: 

''Baltimore,  November  9,  1848. 

"Received  of  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Esq.,  five  hundred 
dollars  ($500.00),  convertible  into  the  stock  of  the  Western 
Telegraph  Company,  when  organized,  according  to  the  terms 
of  subscription,  dated  May  22,  1848. 

"  (Signed)   Wm.  Reynolds, 
M.  C.  F.  Pickett, 
Trustees  under  the  Articles  of 
Subscription  for  the  stock  of  the 
Western  Telegraph  Company." 

This  receipt  was  printed  by  Murphy  and  Co.,  printers  and 
stationers,  Baltimore.  These  receipts  were  never  con 
verted  into  the  stock,  but  were  held  by  the  persons  who 
received  them  as  the  stockholders  of  the  Western  Telegraph 
Company.  This  constitutes,  therefore,  the  first  subscrip 
tion  made  by  individuals  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  tele 
graph  line.  One  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dollars  were 
subscribed  to  this  Company.  The  subsequent  history  and 
the  fate  of  the  investment  of  a  large  number  of  those  who 
had  placed  their  money  in  this  enterprise  are  found  in  three 
decisions,  which  appear  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  for  the 
State  of  Maryland,  namely:  Sprigg  v.  Western  Telegraph 
Company,  46  Md.  67,  Western  Telegraph  Company  v.  B. 
&  0.,  69  Md.  211,  and  Latrobe  v.  Western  Union  and  West 
ern  Telegraph  Company,  74  Md.  232. 

The  Western  Telegraph  Company  made  a  contract  in 
1853  with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  under  the  terms 
of  which  it  obtained  the  right  to  construct  its  telegraph 
lines  along  the  railroad  and  to  maintain  them  there  as  long 
as  it  existed  as  a  telegraph  company.  It  had  been  incor 
porated  in  1847  for  thirty  years,  the  Legislature  reserving 


550  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

the  right  to  alter  and  amend  the  charter.  The  Western 
Telegraph  Company  subsequently  leased  its  lines  for  some 
thing  over  $10,000  a  year  to  the  American  Telegraph  Com 
pany,  its  only  property  being  the  right  under  this  agreement 
of  1853.  The  American  Telegraph  Company  was  absorbed 
by  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company.  The  Balti 
more  and  Ohio  Railroad  and  the  Western  Union  having  had 
some  disagreement,  the  former  was  anxious  to  get  rid  of  the 
Western  Union  and  to  turn  the  telegraph  lines  along  the 
railroad  over  to  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Telegraph  Company. 
Mr.  Charles  J.  M.  Gwynn  was  then  the  counsel  of  the  West 
ern  Union  Telegraph  Company.  As  the  railroad  was  en 
titled  to  take  possession  of  this  property,  if  the  Western 
Telegraph  Company  ceased  to  exist,  Mr.  Gwynn  proceeded 
to  extend,  as  he  thought,  the  life  of  the  Western  Telegraph 
Company  by  availing  himself  of  the  General  Incorporation 
Law  of  1868,  Ch.  471,  which  provided  that  any  existing 
corporation  could  take  advantage  of  this  Act  and  reincor- 
porate  itself  under  the  terms  of  the  General  Act.  The 
Baltimore  and  Ohio,  probably  being  of  the  opinion  that  the 
effect  of  this  Act  would  be  to  extend  the  life  of  the  Western 
Telegraph  Company,  determined  to  prevent  this,  if  possible. 
It  therefore  purchased  from  Mr.  William  O.  Sprigg  two 
shares  of  Western  Telegraph  stock  and  filed  a  bill,  in  his 
name,  to  prevent  it  from  incorporating  under  the  Act  of 
1868.  When  this  case  reached  the  Court  of  Appeals,  Judge 
Robinson  stated  that  Sprigg  had  omitted  to  state  the  exist 
ence  of  the  contract  of  1853,  and  had  failed  to  make  an  hon 
est  and  fair  disclosure  of  the  facts,  which  failure  would  of 
itself  deprive  him  of  the  right  of  equity  interference.  The 
bill  recited  that,  by  taking  advantage  of  this  Act,  a  new 
corporation  was  about  to  be  created,  to  which  it  was  intended 
to  transfer  all  the  property  rights  of  the  Western  Telegraph 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  551 

Company;  by  which  action  the  plaintiff  would  be  compelled 
to  become  a  member  of  the  new  corporation.  The  case  ap 
pears  in  46  Md.,  page  67:  "The  court  says  that  Sprigg  does 
not  state  that  the  old  Company  was  chartered  in  1847,  for 
a  term  of  thirty  years,  and  that  the  period  thus  fixed  was 
about  to  expire,  and  that  the  Legislature  had  expressly  re 
served  the  right  to  alter  or  amend  its  charter  at  pleasure. 
He  does  not  state  the  fact  of  the  agreement  between  the 
Company  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  under 
which  the  telegraph  company  acquired  the  license  to  con 
struct  its  lines  within  the  limits  of  said  railroad,  and  that  it 
is  stipulated  among  other  things  that  in  the  event  of  disso 
lution  of  the  telegraph  company,  the  railroad  company  was 
authorized  to  take  charge  of  the  telegraph  line  until  the 
company  should  resume  active  operations;  that  the  tele 
graph  company  had  in  1859  leased  all  of  its  lines  to  the 
American  Telegraph  Company  for  a  period  of  thirty  years, 
and  that  this  was  its  sole  income."  The  court  then  goes  on 
to  say  on  page  77:  "The  organization  under  the  Act  of 
1868  was  absolutely  necessary  to  protect  the  property  of 
the  company  from  passing  into  the  possession  and  control 
of  the  railroad  company  and  also  necessary  to  enable  the 
telegraph  company  to  perform  its  covenants  under  the  lease 
from  which  its  entire  income  was  derived."  This  was  de 
cided  March  1, 1877.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio,  determined 
not  to  be  thwarted  in  its  efforts  to  get  this  property,  seized 
it  on  March  10,  1877  and  dispossessed  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company,  the  lessees;  and  from  that  time  the 
Western  Union  ceased  to  pay  rent  and  the  stockholders 
of  the  Western  Telegraph  Company  ceased  to  receive 
dividends. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company 
had  become  the  holder  of  the  majority  of  the  stock  by  pur- 


552  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

chase  of  the  stock  of  the  Western  Telegraph  Company. 
There  was  considerable  litigation  between  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  and  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company.  The 
latter  subsequently  bought  out  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  and 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Telegraph  Company,  and  resumed 
friendly  relations  with  the  railroad  company. 

A  suit  was  instituted  by  Mr.  Latrobe  against  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company  and  the  Western  Telegraph 
Company  for  the  purpose  of  requiring  the  Western  Tele 
graph  Company,  which  was  represented  by  the  Western 
Union,  to  account  for  the  property  of  the  Western  Tele 
graph  and  the  right  or  license,  or  whatever  it  might  be, 
which  the  Western  Telegraph  Company  claimed  to  have  in 
the  lines  along  the  B.  &  O.  This  case  appears  in  74  Md. 
232.  A  change  seems  to  have  to  come  over  the  Court  of  Ap 
peals,  for  the  opinion  is  delivered  by  Judge  Bryan  in  which 
he  decides  that  the  incorporation  of  the  Western  Telegraph 
Company  under  the  Act  of  1868  created  a  new  corporation, 
and  that  by  this  action  the  Western  Telegraph  Company 
had  cut  its  own  throat;  that,  as  it  was  a  new  corporation,  it 
had  no  rights  under  the  contract  with  the  Railroad  Com 
pany,  and  that  all  this  property  became  vested  in  the  latter. 

This  may  seem  to  the  ordinary  mind  to  be  a  little  inconsist 
ent  with  the  decision  rendered  by  Judge  Robinson,  in  46 
Md.,  in  which  he  says  "that  the  organization  under  the 
Act  of  1868  was  absolutely  necessary  to  protect  the  property 
of  the  Company  from  passing  into  the  possession  and  con 
trol  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,"  but 
it  is  a  hopeless  task  to  reconcile  some  of  the  decisions  of  our 
Court  of  Appeals.  There  is  no  question  that  the  Western 
Telegraph  Company's  minority  stockholders,  by  reason  of 
Judge  Bryan's  decision,  were  absolutely  deprived  of  any 
property  which  they  may  have  had,  and  these  stockholders, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  553 

like  most  pioneers  in  great  enterprises,  had  their  invest 
ment  swept  away. 

This  closed  Mr.  Latrobe's  connection  with  the  telegraph 
company,  and  his  estate  has,  as  the  result  of  his  investment, 
a  certificate  for  $500  as  already  stated,  its  only  value  being 
the  fact  that  it  represents  an  investment  in  the  first  tele 
graph  line  in  the  world. 

In  Mr.  Latrobe's  memoranda  of  this  period  we  find  the 
following  interesting  description  of  his  association  with 
Morse : 

"I  should  have  said  something  about  the  Electric  Tele 
graph  earlier  in  these  memoranda.  One  day  Mr.McLane 
said  to  me  while  I  was  with  him  in  the  R.  R.  Company's 
office:  'There  is  a  Mr.  Morse  who  has  been  talking  to  me 
about  a  telegraph  to  be  worked  by  electricity,  and  which  he 
has  obtained  an  appropriation  of  $30,000  from  Congress  to 
experiment  upon.  He  wants  to  put  or  construct  his  first 
ine  between  this  and  Washington.  You  know  more  of 
these  things  than  I  do.  I  wish  you  would  have  a  talk  with 
him,  and  let  me  know  what  you  think  of  his  scheme.  Come 
at  such  an  hour  and  I  will  introduce  you  to  him,  and  you 
can  tell  me  afterward  if  the  company  is  authorized  under  its 
charter  to  allow  him  to  put  his  line  upon  the  road.'  Later 
in  the  day  Mr.  Morse  was  introduced,  and  I  invited  him  to 
take  tea  with  me.  I  knew  him  well  already,  by  his  profes 
sion  as  a  painter,  and  had  especially  admired  a  noble,  full 
length  portrait  which  I  had  seen  in  an  exhibition  of  pictures 
in  New  York,  and  was  greatly  pleased  to  know  him  per 
sonally,  irrespective  of  the  telegraph. 

"After  tea — I  remember  it  as  though  it  were  but  yester 
day — Mr.  Morse  and  I  sat  down  at  my  desk  on  a  table  in 
the  recess  next  the  fire  place,  and  taking  a  half  sheet  of 
letter  paper,  he  made  his  diagram  of  his  plan,  and  pro- 


554  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

ceeded  to  explain  to  me  his  system.  I  very  soon  under 
stood  it,  and  became  offhand  enthusiastic.  Indeed,  it  was 
impossible  to  resist  the  eager  eloquence  of  the  speaker. 
Presently,  he  wrote  down  his  alphabet  for  me,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  prophesy  a  future  which  scarcely  fell  short  of 
what  the  world  witnessed.  It  was  late,  very  late,  when 
we  separated. 

"The  next  morning  I  called  on  Mr.  McLane.  'Well,' 
said  he,  'what  do  you  make  of  Mr.  Morse  and  his  plans?' 
'Why,  Mr.  McLane,'  I  replied,  'you  have  been  Secretary  of 
State,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Minister  to  England,  and 
have  a  place  in  history,  but  you  will  never  reach  the  pin 
nacle  that  Morse  will  occupy.  I  am  not  sure  that  your  best 
claim  to  immortality  will  not  rest  on  the  fact  that  you  will 
have  promoted  Morse's  first  construction  of  a  telegraph  for 
practical  purposes.'  I  would  not  swear  now  to  the  exact 
words  which  I  have  repeated  again  and  again  since,  but  I 
know  they  were  to  this  effect.  Mr.  McLane,  to  whom  I 
then  proceeded  to  explain  what  Morse  had  taught  me,  took 
in  the  whole  subject  on  the  instant,  and,  when  I  told  him 
there  was  no  legal  difficulty,  granted  to  Mr.  Morse  at  once 
the  privilege  he  desired. 

"In  those  days,  incredulity  as  to  Morse's  success  was 
very  general,  and  the  majority  hooted  at  the  idea  of  an 
electric  telegraph. 

"It  is  my  impression  that  Mr.  Morse's  description  to  me 
contemplated  a  double  wire,  one  for  each  direction.  I  have 
no  recollection  of  his  referring  to  the  earth  as  completing 
his  circuit.  I  know,  however,  that  the  idea  of  the  present 
poles  was  not  what  he  began  with.  His  wires  were  crossed 
with  threadlike  women's  bonnet  wires,  and  were  enclosed 
in  a  three  inch  lead  pipe,  which  was  coiled  on  a  spool  in 
the  rear  of  a  plow  and  laid  in  the  furrow  which  it  made, 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  555 

being  carried  up  by  a  couple  of  rollers  that  pressed  the 
earth,  removed  by  the  share,  upon  the  tube.  This  plan 
was  pursued  as  far  as  the  Relay  House,  seven  miles  from 
Baltimore.  There  was  a  double  difficulty  met  with  here. 
The  furrow  could  not  be  made  across  the  bridge  (Thomas 
viaduct),  and  the  water  condensed  in  the  tube  and  de 
stroyed  the  insulation.  This  led  to  the  adoption  of  the 
poles,  which  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  Mr.  Morse 
regarded  at  first  as  but  a  temporary  contrivance. 

"My  country  residence  being  hard  by  the  Relay  House,  I 
saw  the  work  going  on  from  day  to  day,  and  speak  of  what 
I  know. 

"The  person  in  charge  was  Mr.  Vail,  with  whom  I  be 
came  quite  well  acquainted;  with  Mr.  Morse,  too,  I  was 
thrown  in  frequent  contact.  He  was  a  charming  companion, 
full  of  enthusiasm,  free  in  conversation,  and,  although  he 
devoted  himself  to  his  telegraph,  still  loved  his  art  as  a 
painter,  and  was  glad  on  occasion  to  talk  about  it.  It  was 
impossible  to  know  Mr.  Morse  without  becoming  attached 
to  him.  I  would  I  could  recall  all  that  he  told  me  about  the 
difficulties  he  met  with  in  the  prosecution  of  his  great  de 
sign.  I  have  survived  him  to  honor  his  memory,  and  to 
feel  proud  of  the  scant  association  with  him,  here  detailed, 
into  which  accident  threw  me." 

It  was  over  this  line  constructed  between  Baltimore  and 
Washington  that  the  message  sent  by  Miss  Ellsworth 
flashed— "What  hath  God  wrought." 

"In  a  previous  part  of  these  memoranda,  there  is  an  ac 
count  of  my  connection  with  the  early  history  of  the  tele 
graph,  and  in  1877  I  was  employed  in  the  great  suit  in  New 
York  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Telegraph  Company 
on  the  one  part  and  the  Western  Union  on  the  other.  Here 


556  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

the  question  was  as  to  the  right  to  use  the  Quadruplex  sys 
tem,  by  which  two  messages  were  sent  in  the  same  direc 
tion  over  one  wire,  while  at  the  same  time  two  messages 
were  sent  in  the  opposite  direction  over  the  same  wire; 
and  since  then  we  have  the  telephone,  and  what  will  we 
not  have  next?" 

So  something  over  thirty  years  after  he  first  met  Mr. 
Morse,  he  was  employed  in  a  case  between  the  two  rival 
electric  telegraph  companies,  the  winning  or  losing  of  which 
would  have  cost  the  defeated  company  its  life,  so  important 
was  this  question  of  the  Quadruplex  system.  I  was  in  Mr. 
Latrobe's  office  at  the  time  this  suit  was  in  progress.  I 
remember  General  Benjamin  Butler  was  one  of  the  associ 
ates.  According  to  my  recollection,  testimony  was  taken, 
volumes  of  it.  Money  was  spent,  several  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars.  The  result  was  a  compromise  of  some  kind, 
and  ultimately  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Telegraph  Com 
pany  was  absorbed  or  swallowed  by  the  Western  Union,  a 
performance  in  which  that  Company  was  an  adept. 

This  was  the  last  great  patent  case  Mr.  Latrobe  took 
part  in.  He  was  some  seventy-four  or  seventy-five  years 
of  age  when  he  was  retained  in  this  case. 

As  early  as  1851,  Mr.  Latrobe  advocated  the  idea  of  Pub 
lic  Parks  in  Baltimore.  It  was  suggested  that  a  boulevard 
be  constructed  around  the  city.  In  June  of  that  year,  John 
H.  B.  Latrobe,  James  Carroll,  Fielding  Lucas,  Jr.,  and 
John  H.  B.  Jerome  were  appointed  as  a  Committee  by  the 
Mayor  and  City  Council  to  inquire  into  and  report  upon  the 
subject. 

Public  opposition  was  so  determined  that  the  matter  was 
dropped.  In  1856-1860  Thomas  Swann  was  Mayor.  Ap 
plications  for  franchises  were  made  by  the  Street  Railway; 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  557 

and  these  franchises  were  granted  on  condition  that  a  cer 
tain  percentage  of  the  earnings  of  the  Company  should  be 
paid  to  the  city — to  be  applied  either  to  the  creation  of  a 
boulevard  or  else  to  the  purchase  and  maintenance  of  pub 
lic  parks. 

By  a  resolution  approved  June  4, 1860,  a  commission  was 
appointed,  to  serve  without  compensation,  to  purchase  a 
site  or  sites  for  a  public  park.  The  commissioners  were 
Thomas  Swarm,  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  Columbus  O'Donnell, 
William  E.  Hooper,  and  Robert  Leslie.  Druid  Hill  was 
selected.  It  was  purchased  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  dol 
lars  an  acre  for  five  hundred  and  twenty  acres  (the  area  has 
since  been  increased  to  about  twelve  hundred  acres).  Mr. 
Lloyd  N.  Rogers,  who  was  [the  owner  of  about  four  hun 
dred  and  seventy-five  acres  of  the  land,  objected  to  receiving 
city  stock  in  payment.  Mr.  Achibald  Sterling,  a  friend  of 
Mr.  Rogers,  induced  him  to  make  the  sale,  provided  one- 
fourth  of  the  amount  was  paid  in  cash.  The  following 
named  gentlemen  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  city's  credit, 
each  agreeing  to  purchase  city  stock  to  the  amount  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  cash  apiece:  Thomas  Swarm,  John  H.  B. 
Latrobe,  Columbus  O'DonneH,  John  F.  Orem,  John  F. 
Gittings,  George  S.  Brown,  William  E.  Hodper,  Thomas 
Winans,  and  Chauncey  Brooks.  So  Druid  Hill  was  pur 
chased  and  is,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  the  most  beautiful 
natural  park  in  the  country.  The  dedication  ode  was  writ 
ten  by  Mr.  Latrobe  and  sung  by  the  school  children. 

Mr.  Latrobe  was  President  of  the  Park  Board  from  1860 
to  1891.  The  gateway  at  Madison  Avenue  was  of  his  de 
sign.  He  always  looked  upon  the  park  as  his  particular 
property.  Few  things  were  done  without  his  approval.  He 
was  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  Centennial  in  1876, 
and  the  Maryland  House  at  the  Centennial  was  taken  down 


558  JOHN  H.   B.   LATROBE 

and  placed  upon  one  of  the  hills  near  the  Mansion  House, 
and  is  now  used  as  a  museum.  A  flock  of  Southdown  sheep 
was  one  of  the  matters  of  interest.  Mr.  Latrobe  wished  the 
shepherd  to  wear  a  costume,  which  would  be  more  in  keep 
ing  with  the  landscape.  The  shepherd  did  not  like  the 
idea.  He  had  an  old  blue  army  coat,  which  he  would  don 
every  tune  Mr.  Latrobe  turned  his  back. 

MR.    LATROBE  AND   EDGAR  ALLAN   POE 

In  "Kennedy  Square,"  one  of  the  novels  of  the  late  Hop- 
kinson  Smith,  we  find  the  following  references  to  Mr.  La- 
trobe's  association  with  Edgar  Allan  Poe: 

Page  198:  "Mr.  John  P.  Kennedy,  the  widely  known 
author  and  statesman,  and  Mr.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  equally 
noteworthy  as  counsellor,  mathematician,  and  patron  of 
the  fine  arts,  both  of  whom  had  been  Poe's  friends  for 
years,  and  who  had  first  recognized  his  genius." 

Page  227:  "Hospitality  of  that  kind  was  understand 
able  in  men  like  Kennedy  and  Latrobe,  the  first  one  of  the 
leading  literary  lights  in  his  State,  whose  civic  duties  brought 
him  in  contact  with  all  classes;  the  other  a  distinguished 
man  of  letters  as  well  as  being  a  poet,  artist,  and  engineer, 
who  naturally  touched  the  sides  of  many  personalities." 

Page  201:  "  .  .  .  .  While  Latrobe,  both  in  his 
dress  and  dignified  bearing,  easily  held  first  place  as  the 
most  distinguished  looking  man  in  the  room." 

Mr.  Latrobe  never  saw  Edgar  Allan  Poe  but  once.  I 
found  in  his  journal  the  following  entry: 

"Monday — October  7,  1833.  After  dinner  Kennedy  and 
Dr.  Miller  met  at  my  house  to  decide  the  merits  of  certain 
compositions  offered  for  premiums  for  the  '  Saturday  Visitor,' 
and  made  our  selection  of  prose  and  poetry,  and  had  alto 
gether  quite  a  pleasant  afternoon  and  evening." 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  559 

It  was  at  this  meeting,  held  at  Mr.  Latrobe's  house,  that 
the  prize  was  awarded  to  the  author  (unknown)  of  "A  MS. 
found  in  a  Bottle." 

Mr.  Latrobe  in  an  address  delivered  by  him  on  the  occa 
sion  of  the  unveiling  of  the  monument  to  Edgar  Allan  Poe, 
in  December,  1875,  says: 

"About  the  year  1832,  there  was  a  newspaper  in  Balti 
more,  called  'the  Saturday  Visitor,'  an  ephemeral  publica 
tion,  that  aimed  at  amusing  its  readers  with  light  literary 
productions,  rather  than  the  news  of  the  day.  One  of  its 
efforts  was  to  procure  original  tales,  and,  to  this  end,  it  of 
fered,  on  this  occasion,  two  prizes,  one  for  the  best  story  and 
the  other  for  the  best  short  Poem — one  hundred  dollars  for 
the  first,  and  fifty  dollars  for  the  last.  The  judges  appointed 
by  the  Editor  of  the  Visitor  were  the  late  John  P.  Kennedy, 
Dr.  James  H.  Miller,  now  deceased,  and  myself;  and,  ac 
cordingly,  we  met  one  pleasant  afternoon  in  October,  1833, 
in  the  back  parlor  of  my  house,  in  Mulberry  street;  and, 
seated  around  a  table  garnished  with  some  old  wine  and 
some  good  cigars,  commenced  our  critical  labors.  As  I 
happened  then  to  be  the  youngest  of  the  three,  I  was  re 
quired  to  open  the  packages  of  Prose  and  Poetry,  respec 
tively,  and  read  the  contents.  Alongside  of  me  was  a  bas 
ket,  to  hold  what  we  might  reject.  Some  were  condemned 
after  a  few  sentences  had  been  read.  Some  were  laid  aside 
for  reconsideration — not  many.  These  last  failed  to  pass 
muster  afterwards;  and  the  Committee  had  about  made  up 
their  minds  that  there  was  nothing  before  them  to  which 
they  could  award  a  prize,  when  I  noticed  a  small  quarto 
bound  book  that  had,  until  then,  accidentally  escaped  at 
tention,  possibly  because  so  unlike,  externally,  the  bundles 
of  manuscript  that  it  was  to  compete  with.  Opening  it, 
an  envelope  with  a  motto,  corresponding  with  one  in  the 


560  JOHN  H.   B.  LATROBE 

book  appeared,  and  we  found  that  our  Prose  examination 
was  still  incomplete.  Instead  of  the  common  cursive  manu 
script,  the  writing  was  in  Roman  characters — an  imitation 
of  printing.  I  remember  that,  while  reading  the  first  page 
to  myself,  Mr.  Kennedy  and  the  Doctor  had  filled  their 
glasses  and  lit  their  cigars,  and  when  I  said  that  we  seemed 
at  last  to  have  a  prospect  of  awarding  the  prize,  they  laughed 
as  though  they  doubted  it,  and  settled  themselves  in  their 
comfortable  chairs  as  I  began  to  read.  I  had  not  proceeded 
far  before  my  colleagues  became  as  much  interested  as 
myself.  The  first  tale  finished,  I  went  to  the  second,  then 
to  the  next,  and  did  not  stop  until  I  had  gone  through  the 
volume,  interrupted  only  by  such  exclamations  as  'capital,' 
'excellent,'  'how  odd,'  and  the  like,  from  my  companions. 
There  was  genius  in  everything  they  listened  to.  There 
was  no  uncertain  grammar,  no  feeble  phraseology,  no  ill- 
placed  punctuation,  no  worn-out  truism,  no  strong  thought 
elaborated  into  weakness.  Logic  and  imagination  were 
combined  in  rare  consistency.  Sometimes  the  writer  cre 
ated  in  his  mind  a  world  of  his  own,  and  then  described  it — 
a  world  so  weird,  so  strange — 

Far  down  by  the  dim  lake  of  Auber, 
In  the  misty  mid  region  of  Weir; 

Far  down  by  the  dank  tarn  of  Auber, 

In  the  ghoul-haunted  woodland  of  Weir. 

and  withal  so  fascinating,  so  wonderfully  graphic,  that  it 
seemed  for  the  moment  to  have  all  the  truth  of  a  reality. 
There  was  an  analysis  of  complicated  facts,  an  unravelling 
of  circumstantial  evidence,  that  won  the  lawyer  judges;  an 
amount  of  accurate  scientific  knowledge  that  charmed  their 
accomplished  colleague;  a  pure  and  classic  diction  that  de 
lighted  all  three. 


MEMPHIS,  MISSISSIPPI,  1832. 
Painted  by  John  H,  B.  Latrobe 


•  v&\u 

'»  . 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  561 

"When  the  reading  was  completed,  there  was  a  difficulty 
of  choice.  Portions  of  the  tales  were  read  again;  and 
finally  the  Committee  selected  'A  MS  found  in  a  Bottle/ 
One  of  the  series  was  called  'A  Descent  into  the  Maelstrom;' 
and  this  was  at  one  time  preferred.  I  cannot  now  recall 
the  names  of  all  the  tales.  There  must  have  been  six  or 
eight.  But  all  the  circumstances  of  the  selection  ultimately 
made  have  been  so  often  since  referred  to  in  conversation, 
that  my  memory  has  been  kept  fresh,  and  I  see  my  fellow- 
judges  over  their  wine  and  cigars  in  their  easy  chairs — both 
genial,  hearty  men,  in  pleasant  mood — as  distinctly  now  as 
though  I  were  describing  an  event  of  yesterday. 

"I  believe  that  up  to  this  time  not  one  of  the  committee 
had  ever  seen  Mr.  Poe,  and  it  is  my  impression  that  I  was 
the  only  one  that  had  ever  heard  of  him.  When  his  name 
was  read,  I  remembered  that  on  one  occasion,  Mr.  William 
Gwynn,  a  prominent  member  of  the  bar  of  Baltimore,  had 
shown  me  the  very  neat  manuscript  of  a  poem  called  'Al 
Aaraaf  which  he  spoke  of  as  indicative  of  a  tendency  to 
anything  but  the  business  of  matter  of  fact  life.  Those  of 
my  hearers  who  are  familiar  with  the  poet's  work  will  recol 
lect  it  as  one  of  his  earlier  productions.  Although  Mr. 
Gwynn,  besides  being  an  admirable  lawyer,  was  noted  as 
the  author  of  wise  and  witty  epigrams,  'Al  Aaraaf  was  not 
in  his  vein,  and  what  he  said  of  the  writer  had  not  prepared 
me  for  the  production  before  the  Committee.  His  name 
I  am  sure  was  not  at  that  tune  a  familiar  one.  The  next 
number  of  the  'Saturday  Visitor'  contained  the  'MS  found 
in  a  Bottle,'  and  announced  the  author.  My  office  in  those 
days  was  in  a  building  now  occupied  by  the  Mechanics' 
Bank,  and  I  was  seated  at  my  desk  on  the  Monday  follow 
ing  the  publication  of  the  tale,  when  a  gentleman  entered 
and  introduced  himself  as  the  writer,  saying  that  he  came 


562  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

to  thank  me,  as  one  of  the  committee,  for  awarding  in  his 
favor.  Of  this  interview,  the  only  one  had  with  Mr.  Poe, 
my  recollection  is  very  distinct  indeed,  and  it  requires  but 
a  small  effort  of  imagination  to  place  him  before  me  now, 
as  plainly  almost  as  I  see  my  audience.  He  was,  if  any 
thing,  below  the  middle  size,  and  yet  cannot  be  described 
as  a  small  man.  His  figure  was  remarkably  good,  and  he  car 
ried  himself  erect  and  well,  as  one  who  had  been  trained  well. 
He  was  dressed  in  black,  and  his  frock  coat  was  buttoned 
to  the  throat,  where  it  met  the  black  stock,  then  in  universal 
use.  Not  a  particle  of  white  was  visible.  Coat,  hat,  boots, 
and  gloves  had  evidently  seen  their  best  days;  but  so  far 
as  mending  and  brushing  could  go,  everything  had  been 
done,  apparently,  to  make  them  presentable.  On  most 
men  his  clothes  would  have  looked  shabby  and  seedy;  but 
there  was  something  about  this  man  that  prevented  me  from 
criticising  his  garments,  and  the  details  I  have  mentioned 
were  only  recalled  afterwards.  The  impression  made,  how 
ever,  was  that  the  award  in  Mr.  Poe's  favor  was  not  inop 
portune.  Gentleman  was  written  all  over  him.  His  man 
ner  was  easy  and  quiet,  and  although  he  came  to  return 
thanks  for  what  he  regarded  as  deserving  them,  there  was 
nothing  obsequious  in  what  he  said  or  did.  His  features  I 
am  unable  to  describe  in  detail.  His  forehead  was  high, 
and  remarkable  for  the  great  development  at  the  temples. 
This  was  the  characteristic  of  his  head,  which  you  noticed 
at  once,  and  which  I  have  never  forgotten.  The  expression 
of  his  face  was  grave,  almost  sad,  except  when  he  was  en 
gaged  in  conversation,  when  it  became  animated  and  change 
able.  His  voice,  I  remember,  was  very  pleasing  in  its  tone, 
and  well  modulated,  almost  rhythmical,  and  his  words 
were  well  chosen  and  unhesitating.  Taking  a  seat,  we  con 
versed  awhile  upon  ordinary  topics,  and  he  informed  me 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  563 

that  Mr.  Kennedy,  my  colleague  on  the  committee,  on  whom 
he  had  already  called,  had  either  given,  or  had  promised  to 
give  him  a  letter  to  the  Southern  Literary  Messenger,  which 
he  hoped  would  procure  him  employment.  I  asked  whether 
he  was  then  occupied  with  any  literary  labor.  He  replied 
that  he  was  engaged  in  a  voyage  to  the  moon,  and  at  once 
went  into  a  somewhat  learned  disquisition  upon  the  laws  of 
gravity,  the  height  of  the  earth's  atmosphere,  and  the  ca 
pacities  of  balloons,  warming  in  his  speech  as  he  proceeded. 
Presently,  speaking  in  the  first  person,  he  began  the  voyage, 
after  describing  the  preliminary  arrangements,  as  you  will 
find  them  set  forth  in  one  of  his  tales,  called  the  'Adventure  of 
Hans  Pfaal,'  and,  leaving  the  earth  and  becoming  more  and 
more  animated,  he  described  his  sensations  as  he  ascended 
higher  and  higher,  until  at  last  he  reached  the  point  in  space 
where  the  moon's  attraction  overcame  that  of  the  earth, 
when  there  was  a  sudden  bouleversement  of  the  car  and  a 
great  confusion  among  its  contents.  By  this  time  the 
speaker  had  become  so  excited,  spoke  so  rapidly,  gesticu 
lating  much,  that,  when  the  turn  upside-down  took  place, 
and  he  clapped  his  hands  and  stamped  his  foot  by  way  of 
emphasis,  I  was  carried  along  with  him,  and,  for  aught  to 
the  contrary  that  I  now  remember,  may  have  fancied  my 
self  the  companion  of  his  aerial  journey.  The  climax  of 
the  tale  was  the  reversal  I  have  mentioned.  When  he  had 
finished  his  description  he  apologized  for  his  excitability, 
which  he  himself  laughed  at.  The  conversation  then 
turned  upon  other  subjects,  and  soon  afterward  he  took  his 
leave.  I  never  saw  him  again.  Dr.  Griswold's  statement 
'that  Mr.  Kennedy  accompanied  him  (Poe)  to  a  clothing 
store  and  purchased  for  him  a  respectable  suit  with  a  change 
of  linen  and  sent  him  to  a  bath'  is  a  sheer  fabrication. 
"That  I  heard  of  him  again  and  again,  year  after  year,  in 


564  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

common  with  all  English  speaking  people,  more  and  more,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  say.  I  heard  of  him  in  terms  of  praise  some 
times,  sometimes  in  terms  of  censure,  as  we  all  have  done; 
until  now  that  he  has  passed  away,  leaving  his  fame  behind 
him,  to  last  while  our  language  lasts,  I  have  grown  to  think 
of  him  only  as  the  author  who  gave  to  the  world  'The  Raven' 
and  'The  Bells,'  and  many  a  gem  beside  of  noble  verse;  who 
illustrated  the  power  of  the  English  tongue  in  prose  compo 
sition  not  less  logical  than  imaginative;  and  I  forget  the 
abuse,  whether  with  or  without  foundation,  that  ignorance* 
prejudice  or  envy  has  heaped  upon  his  memory.  Unfortu 
nate  in  his  first  biographer  following  his  death,  where  the 
author,  with  a  temper  difficult  to  understand,  actually 
seemed  to  enjoy  his  depreciation  of  the  Poet's  life,  Edgar 
Allan  Poe  was  seen  by  a  malignant  eye,  and  his  story  was 
told  by  an  unkindly  tongue,  and  the  efforts  since  made  by 
friends  to  do  him  justice  are  slowly  succeeding  in  demon 
strating  that  there  was  in  him  an  amount  of  good  which, 
in  all  fairness,  should  be  set  off  against  that  weakness  which 
we  must  regret  while  we  attempt  to  palliate  it." 

To  Poe,  then,  may  well  be  applied  the  verse  of  one  of  the 
most  gifted  of  our  Poetesses,  addressed  to  a  great  name  in 
a  different  sphere. 

The  moss  upon  thy  memory?  No! 

Not  while  one  note  is  rung 
Of  those  divine  immortal  lays 

Milton  and  Shakespeare  sung, 
Not  till  the  gloom  of  night  enshrouds 

The  Anglo-Saxon  tongue. 

Emerson  characterizes  Poe  as  the  Jingle  Man,  presuma 
bly  referring  to  the  'tintinnabulation  of  the  bells.'  It  may 
not  be  uninteresting  to  know  that  it  was  through  Mr. 
Latrobe  that  the  monument,  which  now  marks  the  grave 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  565 

of  Poe,  was  paid  for  by  George  W.  Childs,  of  Philadelphia. 
Mr.  Childs  became  interested  through  his  friendship  for 
Mr.  Latrobe,  who  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  no 
tablet  marked  Poe's  grave.  Among  Mr.  Latrobe's  papers 
is  this  letter;  the  result  of  which  was  that  Mr.  Childs  had 
the  monument  erected. 

"Baltimore,  May  23,  1874. 
"George  W.  Childs,  Esq., 
Philadelphia, 
Pa. 
"Dear  Sir: 

"You  must  excuse  me  for  not  answering  your  favor  of 
the  18th  sooner,  but  I  had  understood  that  something  was 
being  done  in  regard  to  placing  a  monument  over  the  grave 
of  Mr.  Poe.  I  called  on  Mr.  Danskin,  who  is  a  spiritualist, 
and  has  written  me  something  that  I  consider  means  noth 
ing,  as  it  refers  to  what  he  wanted  to  do  some  ten  or  fifteen 
years  ago.  In  his  note  he  speaks  to  me  of  a  bust  of  Pallas, 
surmounted  by  a  raven,  and  of  having  the  remains  removed 
to  Greenmount  Cemetery,  but  I  presume  it  will  amount  to 
nothing.  If  you  will  do  me  the  favor  to  say  about  the 
cost  of  a  tomb  you  would  prefer,  I  will  take  pleasure  in 
sending  you  some  sketches  to  select  from,  in  case  I  cannot 
go  to  Philadelphia.  There  might  be  some  trouble  in  having 
the  remains  removed  to  another  cemetery,  but  I  can  see 
no  trouble  in  placing  a  tomb  over  his  grave,  and  I  would 
suggest  something  plain  and  neat.  Anything  I  can  do  to 
assist  you  in  your  worthy  enterprise  will  be  done  cheerfully. 
Awaiting  your  reply, 

I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

HUGH  SISSON. 


566  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

An  effort  had  been  made  in  1865  by  the  Public  School 
Teachers'  Association  to  secure  funds  to  erect  a  suitable 
monument.  Literary  entertainments  were  given  by  the 
young  ladies  of  the  Western  High  School.  The  sum  real- 

*«« 

ized  was  $627.50.  On  September  2,  1874,  the  amount  in 
hand  had  grown  to  $887.50.  The  Committee  took  the 
matter  up  with  George  A.  Frederick  who  submitted  a  design 
which  would  have  cost  more  than  the  amount  at  their  dis 
posal.  Mr.  Childs  was  a  very  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  La- 
trobe,  and  he  agreed,  as  evidenced  by  the  above  letter  of 
Mr.  Sisson,  to  be  responsible  for  the  amount.  The  memorial 
meeting  was  held  November  17th,  1875. 

I  became  associated  with  Mr.  Latrobe  in  1876,  under  an 
agreement  made  for  three  years.  I  had  practiced  a  year 
in  Cumberland.  My  arrangement  with  him  was  to  attend 
to  office  work  for  him,  for  which  he  paid  me  a  certain  sum. 
I  was  to  have  an  office  of  my  own  with  the  right  to  practice 
on  my  own  account.  Ferdinand  was  absorbed  in  politics; 
John  was  in  Samoa;  Steuart  had  an  office  in  the  Marshall 
Building,  but  would  not  attend  to  the  details  of  the  office; 
Osmun  was  in  Europe.  I  took  the  position  made  vacant 
by  the  departure  of  Carroll  Sprigg  who  accepted  an  offer 
from  New  York. 

When  I  first  met  Mr.  Latrobe  in  his  office,  he  stated  that 
he  found  that  his  temper  had  not  improved  with  age,  that 
he  at  times  was  irritated  and  irritable.  If  matters  did  not 
go  just  right,  he  might  say  unjust  and  unpleasant  things 
to  me;  that  he  wished  now  to  make  an  apology  for  anything 
he  might  say.  I  was  to  remember  that  he  was  seventy- 
three  years  old,  and  would,  after  he  had  said  anything  harsh, 
regret  having  said  it  more  than  I  could  to  have  heard  it 
said. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  567 

When  I  left  his  office,  John  having  returned  from  Samoa, 
I  reminded  him  of  the  standing  apology  he  had  made,  and 
that,  during  my  stay  with  him,  I  had  never  had  to  draw  upon 
it.  I  became  very  intimate  with  John,  and  I  know  his 
father  was  most  grateful  to  me  for  the  interest  I  took  in 
him.  John  was  most  attractive  personally,  and  a  gentle 
man  always.  He  was  drowned  in  1882,  poor  fellow.  His 
father  used  to  speak  of  me  as  his  adopted  son,  and  to  his 
interest  and  affection  I  owe  most  of  the  opportunities  given 
me  in  my  professional  career. 

My  first  case  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  was  the  case  of 
Silljacks  v.  Presstman.  Mr.  Latrobe  associated  me  with 
him.  Against  us  was  Benjamin  Presstman,  a  former  stu 
dent  of  Mr.  Latrobe's,  and  Orville  Horwitz.  I  studied  the 
case,  and  I  knew  every  authority  on  the  subject;  though 
feeling  somewhat  oppressed  by  the  idea  of  speaking  before 
such  august  persons  as  the  members  of  the  Court  of  Appeals. 
Mr.  Latrobe  encouraged  me  by  saying,  "You  know  twice 
as  much  of  the  law  on  the  subject  as  any  member  of  the 
bench  who,  if  they  ever  knew,  or  were  familiar  with  the 
law,  have  forgotten  it,  and  you  are  just  fresh  from  the 
authorities.  Go  ahead  and  tell  them  about  it."  One  of 
the  questions  in  the  case  was  the  right  of  a  tenant  to  deny 
the  landlord's  title  without  vacating  the  property.  In  the 
case  at  bar  the  landlord  had  himself  a  leasehold  which,  dur 
ing  the  occupancy  of  his  tenant,  he  had  allowed  to  expire; 
so  that  we  were  not  in  fact  denying  that  he  had  a  title  at 
the  time  that  our  client  took  possession  as  his  tenant,  but 
claiming  the  right  to  show  that  he,  the  landlord,  had  lost 
his  title  by  his  failure  to  renew  it  at  its  expiration.  Lord 
Ellenborough,  in  one  of  his  opinions,  had  decided  that  even 
in  such  a  case  the  tenant  would  be  obliged  to  relinquish 
possession  and  could  not,  without  such  action,  show  that 


JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

the  landlord's  title  had  expired.  About  ten  years  after  this 
decision,  his  Lordship  in  another  case  reviewed  this  opinion, 
and  repudiated  it,  stating  frankly  that  he  was  in  error. 

Mr.  Horwitz,  a  first-rate  lawyer,  commenced  his  speech 
with  a  statement  that  it  was  Horn-Book  law  that  a  tenant 
could  not,  in  such  a  case  as  the  one  at  bar,  question  his  land 
lord's  title,  and  quoted  the  first  case  decided  by  Lord  El- 
lenborough.  I  turned  to  Mr.  Latrobe  and  told  him  of  the 
subsequent  case.  He  said,  "Don't  interrupt  him,  but  let 
him  consume  as  much  of  his  time  as  he  will  in  reading  that 
authority.  Send  for  the  other  book,  and  give  it  to  me." 
I  did  so  and  when  Mr.  Horwitz  sat  down,  Mr.  Latrobe  asked 
permission  of  the  Court,  in  order  to  save  them  from  need 
less  consideration  of  Mr.  Horwitz's  position,  to  read  one  line 
from  the  authority  that  Mr.  Horwitz  had  quoted,  namely, 
Lord  Ellenborough;  and  having  obtained  permission,  he 
read  "I  have,  after  due  consideration,  come  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  I  was  in  error,  in  deciding  as  I  did,  in  ... 
(the  case  quoted  by  Mr.  Horwitz).  We  were  successful. 
This  was  the  last  case  in  which  Mr.  Latrobe  appeared  as 
counsel  in  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

Jh  1880  Mr.  Latrobe  had  attained  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven. 

Yet  in  looking  over  a  list  of  addresses,  etc.,  delivered  by 
him  after  1880,  of  which  a  record  was  kept  in  the  Maryland 
Historical  Society,  I  find  the  following: 

Liberia,  its  origin,  rights,  progress  and  results,  Address, 
1880. 

McDonough  Institution,  Address,  1880. 

Baltimore  Sesqui-Centennial,  Ode,  1880. 

Capitol  at  Washington,  Beginning  of  the  19th  Century, 
1881. 

Laying  the  Cornerstone  of  the  new  Post  Office,  Address, 
1882. 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  569 

Reminiscences  of  West  Point  from  1818  to  1882,  1882. 

Centenary  Commemoration  of  the  Diocese  of  Maryland, 
1783  to  1883. 

Maryland  in  Liberia,  1885. 

Revised  edition  of  Latrobe's  Justice,  1886. 

All  this  work  was  outside  of  the  duties  devolving  upon 
him  in  the  discharge  of  his  obligations  as  counsel  for  the 
different  corporations  represented  by  him,  and  his  daily 
active  life  in  his  studio  and  elsewhere,  attending  to  the 
duties  of  President  of  the  Colonization  Society,  Presi 
dent  of  the  Historical  Society,  and  Chairman  of  the  Park 
Board. 

He  became  the  counsel  of  the  Annapolis  and  Baltimore 
Short  Line,  a  railroad  built  from  Baltimore  to  Annapolis, 
which  was  constructed  in  1880,  one  of  the  shortest  in  this 
country,  and  he  used  to  say  that  as  counsel  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  and  the  Annapolis  and  Baltimore,  he  was  counsel 
for  one  of  the  greatest  railroads  in  the  country  and  one  of 
the  smallest,  but  both  of  them  had  the  same  width  of  gauge. 
In  1886  he  bought  a  typewriting  machine  and  learned  how 
to  use  it.  He  was  then  eighty-three. 

Even  when  he  reached  an  age  beyond  that  usually  al 
lotted  to  men,  he  never  belonged  to  those  who  look  upon 
the  world  "mounted  upon  the  chariot  of  time  with  their 
backs  to  the  horses  and  their  faces  to  the  past." 

"Forward"  was  the  motto  he  painted  on  the  flag  of  his 
Chasseurs,  and  it  was  his  motto  during  life. 

To  grow  old  gracefully  is  an  art.  Many  grow  old  cling 
ing  to  the  banisters,  and  will  not  recognize  that  age  pre 
vents  them  from  being  able  to  discharge  active  duties. 

No  such  struggle  was  made  by  Mr.  Latrobe.  Old  age 
came  upon  him  gracefully  and  kindly. 

He  suffered  one  great  sorrow — the  loss  of  his  youngest 


570  JOHN  H.  B.   LATROBE 

son,  John,  who,  as  I  have  already  said,  was  drowned  in  1882. 
He  kept  up  and  performed  such  duties  as  were  his.  When 
he  felt  no  longer  able  to  walk  home  from  his  office,  he  used 
a  small  one  horse  carriage.  I  remember  with  what  regret 
I  accepted  his  decision  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  take  the 
walk,  which  deprived  me  of  the  opportunity  of  hearing  him 
tell  of  the  past,  and  acquiring  what  he  always  considered 
the  most  valuable  information,  namely,  that  which  we  pick 
up  as  "we  drift  along  shore."  No  young  man  can  overvalue 
the  advantage  of  h^s  opportunity  to  hear  from  the  lips  of 
his  seniors  the  result  of  their  experience.  Such  was  the  an 
cient  custom,  when  schools  were  founded  by  wise  men  who 
were  attended  by  young  disciples  drawing  inspiration  from 
their  words  of  wisdom. 

At  his  death  I  felt  I  had  lost  my  best  and  most  valued 
friend;  and  in  compiling  this  biography  I  have  undertaken 
to  mark  in  some  degree  this  friendship,  by  describing  some 
of  the  work  that  he  did  for  the  benefit  of  the  people. 

At  a  banquet  held  at  Staten  Island  December  16,  1885, 
to  celebrate  the  success  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad 
in  reaching  New  York,  one  of  the  speakers  was  John  K. 
Cowen,  one  of  the  brightest  and  most  capable  lawyers  we 
have  ever  had  in  Maryland;  who  subsequently  as  Receiver 
managed  the  affairs  of  the  railroad  so  successfully  that 
it  did  not  remain  long  under  a  receivership.  He  had  been 
associated  for  a  number  of  years  with  Mr.  Latrobe  who  had 
always  occupied  the  position  of  general  counsel  of  the  Bal 
timore  &  Ohio  Railroad.  Mr.  Cowen  spoke  of  Mr.  Latrobe 
as  follows: 

"I  very  much  regret  that  Mr.  Latrobe  is  not  here  with 
us  tonight  to  speak  for  himself.  A  severe  cold  which  he 
contracted  some  days  since  is  the  cause  of  his  absence.  At 
his  request  I  propose  reading  to  you  what  he  had  intended 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  571 

to  say.  But  before  I  do  so,  I  ask  you  to  bear  with  me  a 
moment  while  I  speak  of  my  friend,  Latrobe,  himself.  I 
regard  him  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  figures  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  railroads  of  this  country.  He  wrote  the  ad 
dress  delivered  at  the  laying  of  the  cornerstone  of  the  Balti 
more  &  Ohio  Railroad,  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1828.  He 
was  one  of  the  counsel  who  prepared  its  charter,  which  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  in  February,  1827. 
From  that  day  to  this  he  has  been  its  advocate  and  its  legal 
adviser.  But,  aside  from  the  interest  that  attaches  to  him 
because  of  this  early  connection  with  the  first  railroad  of 
the  country,  he  is  an  interesting  man  in  himself,  and  I 
exceedingly  regret  that  he  is  not  here  tonight,  that  you 
might  make  his  acquaintance  and  might  hear  his  voice.  He 
is,  if  you  will  permit  me  to  say  it  to  you  busy  men,  and  to 
you  gentlemen  who  delight  to  call  yourselves  men  of  busi 
ness,  a  bright  example  of  what  a  man  can  do,  who,  while 
devoting  more  hours  than  most  of  us  have  the  physical 
strength  to  devote  to  the  arduous  labors  of  a  profession, 
has  still  been  able  to  cultivate  that  which  is  graceful  in  life; 
or,  to  use  the  expressive  language  of  him  who  spoke  with 
such  hearty  welcome  and  in  such  felicitous  phrase,  'the 
amenities,  the  graces,  the  finer  forces  of  life.'  Within  ten 
years  past  I  have  known  Mr.  Latrobe  to  be,  at  the  early  hour 
of  six  in  the  morning,  at  his  canvas  with  the  brush  which 
he  handles  with  such  skill  and  cleverness;  and  I  know  the 
fact  that  many  an  hour  which  otherwise  might  have  been 
an  idle  one  has  been  filled  by  him  with  graceful  lines.  In 
deed,  he  is  one  of  those  men  who  are  so  fortunately  consti 
tuted,  if  you  will  permit  me  to  use  the  language  of  another, 
that  'they  can  find  leisure  in  the  midst  of  the  most  absorb 
ing  employment,  and  expansion  in  the  very  pressure  of  con 
tracting  influence;  to  whom  literature  blossoms  as  the  spon- 


572  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

taneous  wayside  flower  along  their  path,  and  art  and  fancy, 
and  taste  and  graceful  and  refining  thought  and  occupation 
come  smiling  and  ministering  like  the  reaper's  joyous  chil 
dren  who  troop  around  him  even  in  the  harvest  field.'  Such 
is  Mr.  Latrobe,  who  was  expected  to  respond  to  this  toast 
tonight.  He  was  present  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad,  nearly  sixty  years  ago.  As  a 
young  lawyer,  and  its  counsel,  his  face  was  then  radiant 
with  the  sunrise  he  was  intently  watching.  He  had  hoped 
to  be  here  tonight,  although  there  is  now  upon  his  face  the 
glow  of  the  sunset." 

FINIS 

It  was  Mr.  Latrobe's  custom  while  away  from  home,  to 
write  daily  letters  to  his  wife.  He  used  to  spend  several 
months  at  Saratoga  every  year,  and  it  was  in  the  late  sum 
mer  of  1891  that  one  of  the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  his 
wife  was  not  signed — and  was  not  ended.  Upon  its  receipt, 
Mrs.  Latrobe  immediately  asked  her  son  Osmun  to  go  to 
Saratoga  to  ascertain  what  was  the  matter  with  his  father. 
When  Osmun  reached  there,  he  found  his  father  somewhat 
dazed.  He  suggested  that  he  wanted  to  go  to  West  Point, 
but  Osmun  brought  him  home.  He  would  clear  up  every 
now  and  then.  I  called  upon  him,  I  think  it  was  the  day 
before  he  died,  and  he  said  that  "the  machine  was  worn 
out."  He  died  at  his  home  on  the  corner  of  Charles  and 
Read  Streets. 

In  an  old  prayer  book  I  found  a  prayer  written  in  Mr. 
Latrobe's  handwriting.  The  date  reads  "Fairy  Knowe, 
June  24.  1846:" 

Oh !  Almighty  and  ever  living  God,  through  the  influence 
of  Whose  Holy  Spirit,  the  hearts  of  Thy  creatures  are  brought 
to  the  truthful  knowledge  of  Thy  Word,  I  humbly  thank 


AND  HIS  TIMES  1803-1891  573 

Thee  that  in  the  study  of  the  scriptures  up  to  this  time, 
the  same  convictions  have  been  produced  thereby  upon  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  my  dear  wife  and  myself.  Grant,  I 
beseech  Thee,  that  these  convictions  may  grow  in  strength, 
that  our  love  of  Thee  may  be  increased,  that  our  faith  in 
our  Saviour,  Thy  Blessed  Son,  may  be  made  more  lively. 
That  we  may  feel  more  and  more  that,  except  through  His 
merits,  we  can  have  no  hope  for  the  happiness  which  is 
promised  to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  Him,  and  that  at 
last,  and  not  remotely,  we  may  have  courage  humbly  to 
present  ourselves  to  Him,  to  receive  in  commemoration  of 
His  great  sacrifice  the  emblems  of  that  Body  and  Blood 
which  were  freely  offered  upon  the  Cross,  that  we  might  be 
saved.  Hear  then  my  imperfect  prayer,  Oh!  Heavenly 
Father,  for  Christ  Jesus'  sake.  Amen. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  attended 
Emanuel  Church,  where  he  had  a  pew;  but  he  was  very 
liberal  in  his  ideas  about  religion.  He  once  said  to  me  that 
he  looked  upon  all  the  different  divisions  of  the  Christian 
Church  or  sects  with  considerable  doubt,  that  it  struck  him 
that  these  people  had  built  up  a  wall  between  man  and 
their  God,  and  that  they  had  cut  doors  in  this  wall.  At 
each  door  was  a  door-keeper,  who  demanded  certain  re 
quirements  before  anyone  would  be  permitted  to  approach 
his  Maker. 

The  sentiment  expressed  by  Mr.  Latrobe,  namely,  that 
religious  sects  build  up  a  wall  between  man  and  his  God  is 
expressed  in  a  letter  of  Jefferson  to  Mrs.  S.  H.  Smith,  dated 
August  1816.  Speaking  of  priests,  he  says: 

"The  artificial  structure  they  have  built  on  the  purest 
of  all  moral  systems  for  the  purpose  of  deriving  from  it 
pence  and  power,  revolts  those  who  think  for  themselves, 
and  who  read  in  that  custom  only  what  is  really  there." 


574  JOHN  H.  B.  LATROBE 

Towards  the  end,  I  used  to  hear  him  repeating  Bryant's 
Thanatopsis: 

So  live,  that  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan  which  moves 
To  that  mysterious  realm  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  hall  of  death, 
Thou  go,  not  like  the  quarry  slave  at  night 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon,  but  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust.    Approach  thy  grave 
Like  one  that  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams. 

and  so  it  was  with  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  on  September  11, 
1891. 


LATROBE  GENEALOGY 

The  Latrobe  family  descended  from  Count  Henri  Bone- 
val,  who  fled  from  France  to  Holland  after  the  revocation 
of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange  in  1685.  He  accompanied  the  Prince  to  Ireland, 
was  wounded  in  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne,  and  settled  in 
Dublin.  His  descendants  migrated  to  Yorkshire,  England, 
and  from  this  branch  are  descended  the  American  Latrobes. 

A.  Henri  Boneval   de  la  Trobe  married  Adelaide  de 
Montmorenci.    They  had  the  following    children:   1,  Ce 
sar;  2,  another  son;  3,  Jean  Henri  Boneval  de  la  Trobe;  4, 
James  Boneval  de  la  Trobe. 

3.  Jean  Henri  Boneval  de  la  Trobe  had  two  children, 
Thomas  and  Henri,    This  branch  need  not  be  followed,  as  it 
is  a  collateral. 

4.  James  Boneval  de  la  Trobe  was  born  in  1702  and 
died  in  1752.    His  first  wife  was  a  Miss  Thornton.    They 
were  married  in  1724  and  had  seventeen  children  of  whom 
thirteen    survived.    His    second    wife  was  Miss  Rebecca 
Adams,  by  whom  he  had  four  children. 

B.  Reverend  Benjamin  Latrobe,  son  of  James  Boneval, 
was  born  in  1726  and  died  in  1786.      He  married  Anna 
Margaret  Antes  in  1756.     She  was  the  daughter  of  Henry 
Antes,  who  settled  in  Philadelphia  in  what  is  known  as 
Germantown  and  was  a  prominent  man  of  the  times.    Ben 
jamin  Latrobe  was  Bishop  of  the  Moravian  Church  and 
lived  in  England.    .He  had  six  children:  1,  Christian  Igna 
tius;  2,  Anna  Eleanora,  who  married  William  Foster;  3, 
Benjamin  Henry;  4,  Justina  who  died  in  infancy;  5,  Mary 

575 


576  LATROBE  GENEALOGY 

Agnes  who   married  John   Frederick  Bateman;   6,   John 
Frederick. 

1.  Christian  Ignatius  was  born  in  1758  and  died  in  1836. 
He  became  the  Bishop  of  the  Moravian  Church  in  succes 
sion  to  his  father.    He  wrote  several  books  and  was  a  musi 
cal  authority.    His  wife  died  in  1824.    There  are  records  of 
six  of  his  children.    The  eldest  was  Charlotte,  who  died 
unmarried.    The  second  was  Peter,  who  succeeded  his  father 
as  Bishop  of  the  Moravian  Church.    He  married  his  cousin, 
the  daughter  of  the  Fosters,  and  left  two  children,  Benja 
min  and  Louisa.    He  also  was  a  noted  musician.    Agnes, 
the  third  child  of   Christian  Ignatius,    died    unmarried. 
The  fourth  child  was  Charles  Joseph,  who  was  born  in 
1801.    He  became  Governor  of  Australia  and  wrote  several 
books:  Alpenstock  Sketches;  The  Pedestrian;  The  Rambler 
in  North  America;  The  Rambler  in  Mexico;  etc.     The 
fifth  child  was  John  Frederick,  a  physician.    He  married  a 
Miss  Scott  and  in  1836  was  living  at  Armly,  near  Leeds. 
A  sixth  child  was  John,  of  whom  we  have  no  record. 

2.  Anna  Eleanora  married  William  Foster.     She  died  in 
1824.     One  of  her  children  was  John  Frederick  Foster,  Bar 
rister,  Manchester,  England,  as  shown  by  a  letter  which  he 
wrote  to  John  H.  B.  Latrobe  in  Novermber  1857. 

3.  Mary  Agnes  married  John  Frederick  Bateman. 

4.  John  Frederick  married  the  Baroness  von  Stackelberg 
at  Dorpat  in  Livonia.    They  had  six  children,  but  there  are 
records  only  of  four  who  were  living  in  1857.    These  were 
Edward;  Sophia;  Alvina;  and  John  Henry.    Sophia  mar 
ried  Waldemar  von  Bock.    Alvina  married  Leo  Manteuffel. 
John  Henry,  in  1857,  was  living  in  Poll,  Weissenberg. 

This  completes  the  records  at  hand  of  the  collateral 
branches. 


LATROBE  GENEALOGY  577 

5.  Benjamin  Henry  Latrobe.  His  first  wife  was  Lydia 
Sellen  who  died  in  1793.  His  second  wife  was  Mary 
Elizabeth  Hazlehurst,  of  Philadelphia.  They  were  married 
on  May  2,  1800.  She  died  October  16,  1841.  The  children 
of  the  first  marriage  were  Henry  S.  Latrobe,  who  died  in 
1817,  unmarried;  and  Lydia  Latrobe,  who  married  Nicho 
las  J.  Roosevelt  in  1809.  There  were  seven  children  of  this 
marriage.  This  collateral  branch  is  scattered  through  out  the 
United  States.  Of  the  second  marriage  of  Benjamin  Henry 
Latrobe  there  were  five  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  in 
fancy;  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  born  May  4,  1803,  died  Sep 
tember  11,  1891;  Julia,  born  July  17,  1804,  died  unmarried 
March  3,  1890;  Benjamin  H.,  Jr.,  born  December  19,  1806, 
died  October  19,  1878. 

A.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe.  Twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Margaret  Stuart,  daughter  of  Dr.  Stuart.  She 
died  in  1830,  leaving  one  son,  Henry. 

1.  Henry  Latrobe  died  in  1875  or  1876  without  leaving 
issue,  his  only  child  dying  in  infancy. 

The  second  wife  was  Charlotte  Virginia  Claiborne,  who 
bore  him  seven  children:  2,  Ferdinand  C.;  3,  Osmun;  4,  Vir 
ginia,  died  in  infancy;  5,  R.  Steuart;  6,  Virginia;  7,  John 
H.  B.;  8,  Lydia. 

2.  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe  was  born  in  1833  and  died  in 
1911.    He  was  twice  married.    His  first  wife  was  Miss 
Swann,  who  had  one  son,  T.  Swann  Latrobe,  who  died  un 
married.    The  second  wife  had  been  a  Miss  Penrose,  who  at 
the  time  of  the  marriage  was  the  widow  of  Thomas  Swann. 
She  bore  three  children:  (1)  Charlotte;  (2)  Ellen  Virginia; 
and  (3)  Ferdinand  C.,  'Jr. 

(1)  Charlotte  Latrobe  was  twice  married;  first  to  0. 
Howard  Harvey;  second  to  David  Stevenson.  There  are  no 
children. 


578  LATROBE  GENEALOGY 

(2)  Ellen  Virginia  Latrobe  is  unmarried. 

(3)  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe,  Jr.,  married  Miss  Aileen  Ford. 
There  are  two  children  of  this  marriage. 

3.  Osmun  Latrobe,  the  second  son,  died  in  1915  without 
leaving  issue. 

5.  R.  Steuart  Latrobe  married  Mary  MacTier.    They 
had  four  children:  (1)  Mary  MacTier,  born  in  1873,  mar 
ried  Colonel  Arthur  P.  D.  Harris  of  the  English  Army  and 
lives  in  England;  (2)  Osmun  Latrobe,  born  in  1874,  mar 
ried  Maria  Laguna  in  1900.    They  have  three  children: 
Mary  Steuart;  William  Claiborne;  and  Osmun.     (3)  Emily 
Latrobe,  born  in  1876,  married  Sidney  [Browne,  in  1899. 
They  have  one  child,  Sidney  H.  Browne,  born  in  1901. 
(4)   Edna  Claiborne  Latrobe,  the  youngest  child  of  R. 
Steuart  Latrobe,  is  unmarried. 

6.  Virginia  Latrobe  was  born  in  1845.     She  married 
Judge  Cogswell,  and  has  one  son,  Latrobe  Cogswell. 

7.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  the  youngest  son,  was  born  in 
1847  and  died  unmarried  in  1882. 

8.  Lydia  Latrobe  married  Dr.  Loring  of  Washington, 
and  has  one  daughter  living — Lydia  Loring. 

B.  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe,  Jr.,  was  born  on  December  19, 
1806,  and  died  October  19, 1878.  He  married  Maria  Eleanor 
Hazlehurst  on  March  12,  1833.  She  died  in  1872.  They 
had  five  children:  1,  Charles  H.  Latrobe;  2,  Mary  Elizabeth 
Latrobe;  3,  Agnes  C.  Latrobe;  4,  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe;  and 
5,  Maria  Eleanor  Latrobe;  besides  a  sixth,  Edward,  who 
died  in  infancy. 

1.  Charles  H.  Latrobe,  in  1861,  married  a  Mrs.  Holliday, 
who  was  a  Miss  Letitia  Breckenridge  Gamble.  She  died  in 
1867,  leaving  the  following  children:  (1)  Elise  Gamble  La 
trobe,  born  on  May  6,  1863;  (2)  Eleanor  B.  Latrobe,  born 
October  6,  1864;  and  (3)  Gamble  Latrobe,  born  January  21, 
1866. 


LATROBE  GENEALOGY  579 

(1)  Elise  Gamble  Latrobe  was  twice  married:  first  to 
Alexander  McKim,  who  died  in  January  1884,  leaving  one 
child,  Letitia  Latrobe  McKim,  who  was  born  in  the  same 
year;  second  to  Dr.  William  Barton  Hopkins  by  whom  she 
had  four  children:  Eleanor  Barton  Hopkins;  Elise  L.  Hop 
kins;  and  Marian  B.  Hopkins  and  William  B.  Hopkins,  Jr., 
who  died  in  infancy. 

(2)  Eleanor  B.  Latrobe  died  unmarried  in  1890. 

(3)  Gamble  Latrobe  married  Emma  Crozer,  of  Uplands, 
Pa.    They  have  two  children;  Charles  H.  Latrobe,  born  on 
February  25,  1895;  and  Gamble  Latrobe,  Jr.,  born  on  May 
26,  1896.    Following  in  his  grandfather's  footsteps,  Gamble 
Latrobe  holds  an  important  position  as  an  engineer  in  the 
service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

Charles  H.  Latrobe  was  married  three  times.  In  1869  he 
married  Rosa  Wirt  Robinson,  who  died  in  1870  without 
issue;  and  in  1881  he  married  Louise,  the  widow  of  Isaac 
McKim.  He  died  on  September  19,  1902. 

2.  Mary  Elizabeth  Latrobe  was  born  in  August  1836. 
She  married  Henry  Onderdonk.    They  had  two  children, 
Latrobe  and  Adrian  Holmes.     She  died  in  1916. 

Latrobe  Onderdonk  was  born  on  May  12,  1872,  and  died 
November  9,  1883.  Adrian  Onderdonk  was  born  in  1877. 
He  married  Evelynne  Richardson;  and  they  have  one  son; 
Adrian  H.  Onderdonk,  Jr.,  who  was  born  in  August,  1913. 

3.  Agnes   C.   Latrobe  was  born  December  25,   1838. 
She  married  Cornelius  Weston;  and  died  April  26,  1915. 
They    had    three    children:    Benjamin    Latrobe   Weston; 
Henry  B.  Weston;  and  Arthur  Hazlehurst  Weston. 

B.  Latrobe  Weston  was  born  on  December  8,  1868. 
He  married  Virginia  Rich  in  1913.  Henry  B.  Weston  was 
born  on  January  2,  1871,  and  married  Ethel  L.  Reid,  of 
Norfolk,  in  1916.  Arthur  Hazlehurst  Weston  was  born 


580  LATROBE  GENEALOGY 

August  18,  1872.  He  married  Parthenia  Passano  in  1899. 
They  have  three  children :  Arthur  H.,  Jr.,  born  January  19, 
1904;  Leonard  P.  Weston,  born  May  24,  1906;  and  William, 
born  December  4,  1908. 

4.  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe  was  born  December  4,  1840, 
and  died  July  5,  1901.    He  married  Jane  Yates,  and  had 
one  son,  Lawrason  Riggs  Latrobe,  born  in  1875,  who  mar 
ried,  in  1903,  Mrs.  Morris  (born  Maria  Douglas  Allen.) 

5.  Maria  Eleanor  Latrobe  married  Hammond  Vinton, 
and  died  in  1911,  leaving  three  children:  Eleanor  L.  Vin 
ton,  born  November  7,  1879;  Lillian  Hazlehurst  Vinton, 
born  June  5,  1881;  and  Pamela  B.  Vinton,  born  on  January 
28,  1883,  and  married  to  Hans  Strunz  in  1906,  and  now 
living  in  Germany. 

The  early  records  of  the  Latrobe  family  as  shown  in  the 
foregoing  can  be  substantiated  by  a  reference  to  an  appli 
cation  made  by  John  Frederick  Bateman  to  the  British 
authorities  for  permission  to  change  his  name  by  the  addi 
tion  of  the  name  of  Latrobe.  He  is  now  known  by  the  full 
name  of  John  Frederick  Latrobe  Bateman. 


INDEX 


Adair,  Thomas,  222,  226 

Adair,  William  R.,  226 

Adams,  John,  240 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  119,  240 

Addison,  Rev.  Thomas  G.,  169 

Adelaide,  Queen,  219 

Adelward,  Baron,  512 

Adlerburg,  Prince,  511 

Adus,  Thomas,  422 

Adus,  William,  422 

Airey,  Colonel,  468 

Albright,  187 

Alexander  I,  Emperor,  490 

Alexander   II,  Emperor,  390,  393,  476, 
489,  490,  500,  501,  503,  504,  508,  509, 
510,  511,  512,  516,  522,  523 
Alexander,  Dr.,  366,  367 
Alexander,  Sir  William,  283 
Alexandrovna  Petrovna,  Grand  Duch 
ess,  506 

Allen,  Solomon,  185 
Alvey,  Judge,  349 
Anderson,  Dr.,  149 
Anderson,  James  M.,  124 
Andrei,  45 

Antes,  John  Frederick,  97 
Antes,  Margaret  (wife  of  Rev.  B.  H. 

Latrobe),  97 

Archer,  Judge  Stevenson,  299,  338,  341 
Armistead,  Colonel  George,  72 
Ashburton,  Lord,  384 
Ayres,  Dr.  Eli,  141,  142,  145  , 

B 

Bache,  R.,  16,  18 
Bacon,  Leonard,  366 
Bagot,  Sir  Charles,  217 


Baker,  (Secretary  to  British  Minister) 
19 

Bakewell,  51 

Baltimore,  Lord,  280 

Baltzell,  Philip,  172 

Bancroft,  George,  150,  151,  283,  417, 
418 

Barbour,  Governor,  253 

Barbour,  Miss,  253 

Barclay,  Ben  (Barckedge),  453 

Barclay,  Dr.,  248 

Baring  Brothers  Co.,  457, 458,  459,  460, 
471 

Baring,  Thomas,  461 

Barlow,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joel,  35,  240 

Barlow,  Mrs.  Joel,  54,  57,  63 

Barnes,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  188 

Barney,  Lieutenant  Joshua,  222,  223, 

224 

Barnum,  P.  T.,  189 
Barrett,  35,  36 

Barrett  (shipping  master),  288 
Barrett,  Lieutenant  Thomas,  124 
Barry,  Joseph,  438 
Barry,  Llewellyn  C.,  396 
Bartholomaie,  Alexander  de,  475,  476, 

481,  512,  528 

Bartholomaie,    de,  General,  475,  520, 

528 
Bartholomaie,    Helene    de,    Madame, 

426,  474,  475,  476,  479,  480,  481, 

482,  488,  504,  520,  524,  526,  528 
Bartholomaie,  Michael  de,  475,  488 
Bartholomew,   Dr.,    183 

Barlett,  William  E.,  405,  407 

Bartol,  Judge,  179 

Barton,  253 

Bateman,  John  Frederick  Latrobe,  5, 98 

Bayard,  18 


581 


582 


INDEX 


Bayard,  Richard  H.,  301 

Bell,  Alexander  Graham,  331 

Belles,  John,  281 

Belton,  Colonel,  224 

Benson,  B.  F.,  415 

Benzinger,  Captain,  404 

Bernard,  General,  139 

Berryman,  John,  444 

Bexley,  Lord,  448,  465 

Bigelow,  Chief  Justice,  131 

Birckhead,  Hugh,  371 

Birkbeck,  Dr.,  412 

Black,  Colonel,  136 

Black  Hawk,  404,  405 

Bland,  Chancellor,  339,  370 

Blessington,  Lady,  483,  484,  485 

Blodgett,  Charles,  289 

Blyden,  Dr.  E.  W.,  163,  167 

Bock,  de,  Captain,  497,  508,  512 

Bodisco,  Madame  de,  513,  515,  523 

Boissy,  Marchioness  de.  (See  Guic- 
ciola) 

Bollman,  George,  51 

Bomford,  Colonel,  62,  68 

Bonaparte,  Jerome,  40,  42,  43 

Bonaparte,  Jerome  (son  of  above) 
43,  44,  45,  128 

Bonaparte,  Madame  (Elizabeth  Pat 
terson),  16,  22,  34,  40,  41,  42,  43,  44, 
45, 219 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  42,  43,  240,  490 

Boneval,  the,  family,  448 

Booth,  the  elder,  188 

Borch,  Count,  513 

Bordeaux,  Miss,  10 

Bosio,  503 

Bosley,  Nicholas  M.,  200 

Botta,  Mrs.  (Anna  C.  Lynch),  440 

Botts,  John  M.,  of  Virginia,  486,  487 

Bouis,  John,  287 

Bourussoff,  Prince,  520,  522 

Boynton,  Ed.  C.,  126 

Brichard,  49 

Breck,  Mrs.,  19 

Breckinridge,  185 

Brice,  Judge,  143,  197,  200 


Brissot,  167 

Brooks,  Chauncey,  557 

Brooks,  Governor,  38 

Brooks,  Lieutenant,  38 

Brooks,  Mrs.  Sidney,  440 

Brougham,  Lord,  465,  484,  485 

Brown,  243 

Brown,  Alexander,  183,  323,  332 

Brown,  Dr.,  318 

Brown,  General,  81 

Brown,  George,  183,  361 

Brown,  George  S.,  349,  557 

Brown,  Uria,  340 

Brown,  William,  465 

Brune,  183 

Bryan,  351 

Bryan,  Judge,  552 

Bryan,  William  J.,  135 

Buchanan,  183 

Buchanan,  James  (President),  470 

Buchanan,  John  (Chief  Justice),  213, 

338,  339,  341,  342,  343 
Bujac,  454 

Bulongyansky,  the,  family,  475,  523 
Burke,  William,  346 
Burns,  Miss  Marcia,  40 
Burow,  Baron,  475 
Burr,  Aaron,  205 
Butler,  Benjamin  (General),  556 
Byron,  Lord,  236,  484 


Cadwallader,  General,  124 

Caldwell,  18,  252 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  63 

Calvert,  the,  family,  283 

Campbell,  253,  254 

Capellano,  46 

Carey,  Matthew,  103 

Carlton,  253,  257 

Carlton,  Miss,  253 

Carmarthen,    Marquis    of    (Duke    of 

Leeds),  220 
Carnahan,  57 
Carnegie,  Andrew,  415 
Carroll,  Barrister,  182 


INDEX 


583 


Carroll,  Charles,  of  Carrollton,  42,  70, 
104, 106, 150, 181, 182,  214,  215,  216, 
217,  218,  219,  220,  284,  290,  291,  292, 
294,  295,  296,  297,  298,  299,  300,  301, 
323,  331,  388 

Carroll,  Charles,  of  Homewood,  70,  71, 
182,  214,  217,  295,  299 

Carroll,  Charles,  of  the  Manor,  108, 
118,  217,  292,  296,  301 

Carroll,  Charles,  the  elder,  214 

Carroll,  David,  214 

Carroll,  James,  556 

Carroll,  John,  Bishop  (later  Arch 
bishop),  42,  183 

Carroll,  John,  of  the  Manor,  218 

Carter,  13 

Carter,  Mrs.,  of  Virginia,  12 

Carver,  Captain,  405 

Catherine  the  2nd,  the  Great,  489,  521 

Caton,  the  elder.  218 

Caton,  Elizabeth  (Lady  Stafford),  219, 
220,  301 

Caton,  Louisa  Catherine,  (See  Lady 
Harvey) 

Caton,  Richard,  106,  192,  214, 215,  216, 
217,  219,  220,  291,  294,  300,  301 

Caton,  Mrs.  Richard  (Mary  Carroll), 
214,  216,  219,  301 

Celeste,  Madame,  360,  361 

Charles  I,  280 

Charles  XII,  521 

Charley,  the  butcher,  257,  258 

Chase,  Judge,  204,  205 

Chase,  Mrs.  B.,  112,  113 

Chase,  Samuel,  244 

Chatard,  Dr.,  302 

Chevelier,  Michael,  156 

Chew,  Miss  (married  Charles  Cawoll, 
of  Homewood),  182 

Chiffelle,  Miss,  (See  Mrs.  Charles 
Carroll  Harper) 

Chiffelle,  Mrs.,  298 

Childs,  George  W.,  565,  566 

Choate,  370 

Circourt,  430 

Claiborne,  the,  family,  262,  264,  265 


Claiborne,  C.  L.,  318 

Claiborne,    Miss    Charlotte    Virginia, 

(See  Mrs.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe) 
Claiborne,  Ferdinand  Leigh,  General, 

260,  283 

Claiborne,  James  H.,  268,  269,  302 
Claiborne,     Mrs.    James    H.,     (Miss 

Kershaw  of  Carolina),  262,  268,  269 
Claiborne,  Nathaniel,  447 
Claiborne,  William,  280, 282, 283 
Claiborne,  William  C.,  17,  18 
Clapham,  Samuel,  64 
Clapperton,  243 
Clark,  James,  348,  349 
Clark,  James  H.,  413 
Claxton,  520 
Clay,  Henry,  45,  142,  150,  153,  161, 

162,  240,  253,  254,  366,  367,  368,  464 
Clay,  Mrs.  Henry,  45, 253 
Clifford,  Judge,  177 
Clifford,  Sir  Augustus  (?),  465 
Clinton,  Vice-President,  14 
Cloud,  Charles  F.,  416 
Coale,  Edward  L.,  105 
Cochrane,  Lord,  288 
Cockrane,  John  T.,  538,  541,  544,  545 
Coke,  of  Holkham,  6 
Coke,  Mrs.,  of  Holkham,  6 
Coke,  Thomas  William  (Earl  of  Lei 
cester),  192,  193 
Cole,  Lady  F.,  218 
Cole,  John,  186,  188 
Coleridge,  Lord,  398 
Colt,  R.  L.,  183 
Compher,  198,  199,  200 
Constantine,   Grand  Duke,  390,  475, 

476,  477,  478,  479,  489,  502,  503 
Conway,  Moncure  D.,  9 
Conwell,  H.  C.,  155 
Cooke,  Captain,  142 
Cooper,  D.  H.,  General,  537,  539,  541, 

544,  545 

Cooper,  Lord,  486 

Cooper,  Peter,  325,  326,  327,  328,  386 
Cooper,  Spencer,  485,  486 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  280 


586 


INDEX 


Gittings,  John  F.,  557 

Glenn,  Judge,  454 

Glenn,  Elias,  198,  199 

Glenn,  John,  206,  207,  301,  401,  403, 

405 

Golden,  31 

Goldsborough,  Charles,  19 
Gorgas,  F.  J.  S.,  425 
Gorman,  Senator,  348 
Gortschakoff,  Prince,  489, 497, 498, 499, 

500,  511,  512,  513 
Gow,  John  L.,  127 
Grady,  of  Georgia,  158,  162 
Graham,  Alfred,  76 
Graham,  Campbell,  75 
Graham,  Stephen,  518 
Graham,  William,  63 
Grammont,  Duchesse  de,  486 
Grassi  (President  of  Georgetown),  54 
Greenhow,  Dr.,  254 
Greville,  Lady  C.,  218 
Griffith,  Thomas,  102,  103 
Griswold,  Dr.,  563 
Grundy,  George,  182 
Guicciola,  la.,  484 

Gwynn,  Charles,  J.  M.,  396,  399,  550 
Gwynn,  William,  102,  103,  108,  181, 

184, 185, 186, 187,  207,  208,  289,  290, 

332,  334,  344,  371,  372,  418, 561 
Gwynne,  392 

H 

Hale,  Nathan,  of  Boston,  461 

Halfehide,  John,  281 

Hall,  444 

Hall,  of  Washington,  379,  380 

Hall,  Clayton  C.,  180,  420 

Hall,  Dr.  James,  144,  145,  148, 149, 167 

Hall,  Dr.  R.  H.,  455 

Halleck,  General,  131 

Hamilton,  the,  family,  of  Philadelphia, 

16,  17 

Hamilton,  Archibald,  21 
Hamilton,  Mrs.  Archibald,  21 
Hamilton,  Colonel  J.  P.,  186,  187,  188, 

311 


Hamilton,  Miss  Mollie,  of  Philadelphia, 
24 

Hamilton,  Paul  (Secretary  of  the  Navy) 
20,  34,  40 

Hamilton,  Susan,  40 

Hamilton,  Thomas,  156 

Hand,  Moses,  413 

Hanson,  the,  family,  16 

Harden,  Samuel,  413 

Harkesson,  330 

Harlan,  Henry  D.,  Judge,  493 

Harper,  Charles  Carroll,  61,  108,  118, 
142, 143, 145,  168,  174,  217,  222,  223, 
224, 234,  238,  239,  244,  262,  263,  284, 

292,  293,  294,  295,  296,  297,  298,  299, 
301,415,443, 

Harper,  Mrs.  Charles  Carroll,  222,  292, 

293,  294,  296,  297,  298 

Harper,  Emily  L.,  244,  292,  294,  301 

Harper,  Robert  G.,  301 

Harper,  Robert  Goodloe,  General,  16, 
18,  33,  61,  69,  83,  92,  96,  100,  101, 
102,104,106,  108,109,110,111,116, 
117, 118, 119,  121, 122, 139,  140, 141, 
142, 174,  183, 190, 196,  200,  214,  218, 
224,  244,  293,  294,  372,  395,  423,  444 

Harper,  Mrs.  Robert  Goodloe,  214,  234, 
292,  294,  298 

Harris,  90 

Harris,  Hon.  Mr.,  464 

Harrison,  Captain,  459,  466,  467,  468 

Harrison,  Hall,  224 

Harrison,  Henry,  528 

Harrison,  J.  B.,  313 

Harrison,  Joseph,  393 

Harrison,  W.  G.,  224 

Hartnet,  65 

Harvey,  Lady  (Duchess  of  Leeds),  217, 
218,  219,  220,  301 

Harvey,  Sir  Bathurst,  220 

Hascall,  129,  130 

Hayne,  368 

Hayward,  The  Bartlett,  Co.,  391 

Hazlehurst,  Isaac,  4,  47,  67,  70,  72, 
85.99 


INDEX 


587 


Hazlehurst,  Mary  Elizabeth.  (See 
Mrs.  Benjamin  H.  Latrobe) 

Hazlehurst,  Samuel,  284 

Heath,  Colonel  U.  S.,  107,  108,  412 

Heath,  W.  S.,  301 

Henderson,  287,  379,  380 

Henry,  55 

Henry,  Patrick,  244,  447 

Hewley,  Lady,  176 

Billiard,  430 

Hintze,  Dr.  Frederick  E.  B.,  404 

Robert,  Sam,  93 

Hoffman,  the,  family,  183 

Hoffman,  George,  147,  333,  423 

Hoffman,  S.  Owings,  118 

Hohenlohe,  Prince,  509,  510,  511 

Holdship,  48 

Holland,  John  C.,  82,  83 

Hollins,  183 

Holmes,  430 

Holmes,  Dr.,  149 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  376,  439 

Hooper,  William  E.,  557 

Hopkins,  Johns,  361 

Horwitz,  Orville,  567,  568 

Howard,  B.  C.,  210,  345,  346,  413,  423 

Howard,  Ben,  226 

Howard,  Charles,  143,  145,  226,  396 

Howard,  Charles,  of  Samuel,  288, 422 

Howard,  Mrs.  Charles  (daughter  of 
Francis  Scott  Key),  226 

Howard,  George  (Governor  of  Mary 
land),  111,  222,  226 

Howard,  John,  226 

Howard,  John  Eager,  Colonel,  124, 134, 
183,  191,  321,  322 

Howard,  Sophia  (Mrs.  William  George 
Read),  226 

Howard,  William,  226 

Howard,  Dr.  William,  191,  323,  392, 
413,  415 

Howell,  Senator,  20 

Hubbard,  William,  413 

Hughes,  Christopher,  138 

Hull,  Commodore,  21 

Hunt,  Jesse,  401,  404,  443 


Hunter,  of  Rhode  Island,  22 
Hunter,  Rev.  Dr.,  37 
Hunter,  David,  38 
Hunter,  Moses,  38 
Kurd,  Abe,  140,  141 
Hurley,  48,  51 
Hutchins,  the,  family,  305 
Hutchins,  303,  304,  306 
Hutchins,  Mrs.,  305,  306 


Inglis,  Sir  Robert,  464 
Inglis,  Lady  Robert,  464 
Innes,  James,  7,  8,  9 
Irving,  18 

Irving,  Washington,  98,  138 
Isaac,  William  M.,  423 


Jackson,  Andrew,  111,  366,  367 

Jay,  John,  244 

Jay,  Mrs.  John,  14 

Jefferson,  the  elder,  35,  188 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  4,  10,  11,  13,  34, 
157, 164, 167,  238,  240,  245,  246,  247, 
248,  249,  250,  251,  370,  573 

Jenkins,  Michael,  415 

Jennings,  Thomas,  200 

Jerome^  John  H.  B.,  556 

Johnson,  243,  263 

Johnson,  Bradley  T.,  169,  283,  420 

Johnson,  Reverdy,  202,  203,  208,  253, 
254,  301,  332,  343,  370,  379,  380,  383, 
385,  401,  402,  403,  404,  405,  407,  417, 
546 

Johnson,  Mrs.  Reverdy,  253,  254 

Jones,  D.  R.,  Brigadier  General,  C.  S.A. 
397 

Jones,  John  Paul,  240,  244 

Jones,  Talbot,  333 

Jones,  Walter,  19,  202,  369,  370,  373, 

Josephine,  Empress,  42 


Kaphen,  de,  Senator,  528 
Kaphen,  Madame  de,  479,  480,  528 


588 


INDEX 


Kell,  Thomas,  301 

Kelly,  54 

Kelso,  Thomas,  413 

Kemble,  135 

Kemp,  Bishop,  109 

Kennedy,  Mrs.,  57 

Kennedy,  John  P.,  182,  191,  222,  224, 
225,  234,  244,  282,  289,  412,  430, 
431,  432,  433,  434,  435,  436,  462,  463, 
558,  559,  560,  563, 

Kennedy,  Mrs.  John  P.,  435 

Keppel,  Lady  (wife  of  Coke  of  Nor 
folk),  193 

Key,  Francis  Scott,  45,  48,  61,  62 

Keyser,  Philip,  396 

King,  Bennett,  127 

Kirkland  (President  of  Harvard),  78 

Kitty,  Mammy,  36,  37,  56,  58 

Klockoff,  Colonel,  473,  474 

Knight,  Jonathan,  322,  392 

Knowles,  Sheridan,  187 

Knox,  Rev.  Samuel,  246 

Kondrazoff,  508,  512 

Korf,  481 

Kosciuszko,  Colonel,  126 

Kraft,  393 

Krebs,  Jacob  E.,  423 

Krebs,  William,  413 


La  Black,  484 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  118,    119,  120 

121,  122,  196 

Lafayette,  George  Washington,  121 
Landers,  John,  140,  243 
Landers,  Richard,  140,  243 
Lane,  Colonel,  59 
Lansdowne,  Marquis  of,  465 
La  Tour,  Greenwood,  532 
Latrobe,  Agnes,  98 
Latrobe,  Benjamin  H.,  Jr.,  18,  23,  32, 

53,  56,  72,  73,  83,  90,  91,  99,  106, 

113, 114,  173,  220,  223,  284,  285 
Latrobe,  Benjamin  H.,  1,  3, 4,  5,  6,  7, 8, 

9, 10, 11, 14, 17, 19,  23,  24,  25, 27,  30, 


31,  32,  33,  34,  35,  36,  40,  41,  46, 
48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53,  56,  57,  58,  59, 
60,  62,  63,  64,  65,  66,  67,  68,  69,  71, 

72,  83,  85,  86,  88,  89,  90,  91,  92,  97, 
98,  99,  106,  107,  172,  218,  245,  250, 
251,  423,  427,  445,  447 

Latrobe  Mrs.  B.  H.  (Lydia  Sellen),  1 

Latrobe,  Mrs.  Benjamin  H.  (Mary  E. 

Hazlehurst),  4,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17, 

18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25,  34,  39, 

40,  41,  45,  52,  53,  56,  57,  58,  61,  72, 

73,  83,  84,  85,  90,  92,  99,  106,  107, 
112,  127,  172,  239,  270,  348 

Latrobe,  Rev.  B.  H.,  Jr.,  397 

Latrobe,  Rev.  Benjamin  Henry  (after 
wards  Bishop),  97 

Latrobe,  Charles,  99 

Latrobe,  Charles  Joseph,  29,  98,  99, 
420,  448 

Latrobe,  Charlotte,  98 

Latrobe,  Christian  Ignatius,  Bishop, 
97, 98,  99 

Latrobe,  Edward  de,  97 

Latrobe,  Ferdinand  C.,  99,  302,  397, 
470,  471,  472,  473,  545,  566 

Latrobe,  Frederick,  98,  99 

Latrobe,  Gamble,  99 

Latrobe,  Henry  S.,  1,  17,  18,  33,  60,  88, 
397 

Latrobe,  John,  98,  99 

Latrobe,  John  Frederick,  97,  98,  448, 
497,  524 

Latrobe,  Mrs.  John  H.  B.,  41,  135,  136, 
137,  147,  169,  237,  260,  261,  262, 
264,  267,  268,  269,  270,  284,  296,  302, 
303,  317,  318,  427,  438,  452,  453,  459, 
473,  476,  482,  507,  572,  573 

Latrobe,  John  H.  B.,  Jr.,  99,  137,  397, 
566,  567,  570 

Latrobe,  Julia,  23,  40,  57,  72,  83,  86,  87, 
88,  90,  98,  99,  112,  220,  221,  222,  223 

Latrobe,  Lillie  (Lydia),  440,  482,  496 

Latrobe,  Lydia.  (See  Mrs.  Nicholas 
J.  Roosevelt) 


INDEX 


589 


Latrobe,  Mary  Agnes  (Mrs.  Bateman), 

97,98 
Latrobe,  Osmun,  33,  99,  318,  397,  398, 

473,  566,  572 
Latrobe,  Peter,  98,  99,  420,  442,  448, 

465 

Latrobe,  R.  Stewart,  99,  397,  456,  566 
Latrobe,  Virginia,  440,  441,  476,  482 
Laurenson,  Philip,  172,  187 
Law,  14 

Lawrence,  Sir  Thomas,  194 
Leary,  Peter,  413 
Lee,  J.,  301 
Lee,  Robert  E.,  398 
Lee,  Very  Reverend  Principal,  466 
Legox,  Peter,  13 
Leicester,  Earl  of,  465 
L'Enfant,  Major,  75 
Leslie,  Robert,  557 
Levering,  Thomas,  226 
Levitzsky,  479 
Lewis,  Captain  (Secretary  to  Thomas 

Jefferson),  12 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  156,  161,  164,  165, 

370 

Lincoln  (Attorney-General  under  Jeffer 
son),  12 

Livingston,  254 
Livingston,  Cora,  253 
Livingston,  John,  407 
Livingston,  Mr.  &  Mrs.,  253 
Livingstone,  Chancellor,  27,  30,  31,  33 
Lloyd,  John  I.,  143 
Lloyd,  Mrs.,  19 

Long,  Robert  Carey,  181,  186,  413 
Long,  Stephen  H.,   Colonel,  U.  S.  A., 

334,  335,  392 

Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  440,  441 
Longstreet,  J.,  General,  397,  398 
Louis  XVIII,  240 
Lucas,  Fielding,  102,  103,  104, 105, 184, 

185,  361,397,412,419 
Lucas,  Fielding,  Jr.,  413,  556 
Lucas,  John,  397 
Lurman,  William,  181,  332 


M 

Macaulay,  Commodore  Charles,  37 

McClellan,  General,  131 

McClure,  James,  178 

McCoy,  D.  G.,  413 

McCullough,  116,  198,  199,  200 

McCullough,  Dr.,  185 

McCullough,  Colonel  James  H.,  182 

McDonald,  General,  122 

McDonough,  John,  286 

McDowell,  243 

McEldrey,  Hugh,  404,  405 

McElroy,  Father,  55 

McHeath,  364 

McKim,  Anne,  181,  333 

McKim,  Isaac,  181,  333 

McKim,  John,  183 

McKim,  John,  Jr.,  332 

McKim,  William,  183 

McLane,  Louis,  189,  321,  359,  360,  361, 

362,  363,  387,  463,  553,  554 
McLaughlin,  Brigadier  General,  122 
McMahon,  207 

McMahon,  John  V.  L.,  301,  334 
McMechen,  Judge,  197,  200 
McNeill,  Captain  William  Gibbs,  392 
McSherry,  Judge,  350 
MacTavish,  the,  family,  220 
MacTavish,  Charles  Carroll,  220 
MacTavish,   Charles  Carroll,   the 

younger,  220 
MacTavish,  Emily,  220 
MacTavish,  John  Lovet,  214,  220,  298, 

299,  300,  301 
MacTavish,  Mrs.  John  Lovet  (Emily 

Caton),  214,  219,  220,  292,  294,  298, 

299,  300,  301 

MacTavish,  Maris  Mayo,  220 
MacTavish,  Miss  Virginia,  220 
Madison,  James,  12,  14,  20,  24,  34,  45, 

60,  65,  150,  238,  239,  240,  241,  242, 

243,  244,  245,  246 
Madison,  Mrs.  James,  13,  14,  19,  20, 

22,  45,  46,  53,  239,  240,  241,  242 


590 


INDEX 


Magruder,  C.  C.,  419 

Magruder,  Richard  B.,  Judge,  222, 224, 

299 

Mahan,  Professor,  130,  133,  134 
Mann,  Horace,  127,  128 
Mansfield,  Colonel,  84 
Marie,    Grand    Duchess    (Duchess    of 

Lichtenberg),  482,  483,  503,  513,  514, 

515,  516 
Marion,  397 

Marshall,  John,  Chief  Justice,  7,  24 
Martin,  Luther,  204,  205 
Martin,  William  Bond,  Judge,  338, 341, 

343 

Maser,  Miss,  253 
Mason,  General,  14 
Mason,  Jonathan,  78 
Massasoit,  154 
Mathews,  Charles,  Sr.,  107 
Matilieff,  516 
May,  Miss  Anna,  253 
May,  Dr.  Frederick,  18 
May,  Sophia,  16,  18 
Mayer,  Charles  F.,  213,  284 
Mayer,  the,  family,  183 
Mayhew,  401 
Mead,  General,  129,  130 
Medairy,  J.  H.,  425 
Medem,  Baroness,  496,  505,  507,  513 
Medem,  Baron,  of  Kass,  505 
Meeter,  William,  184,  413 
Melvin,  59 
Mentkoff,  393 

Mercer,  Charles  Fenton,  368,  369 
Mercer,  General,  479 
Mercer,  John,  253 
Mercy,  General,  129 
Meredith,  Jonathan,  206,  208,  209,  213 
Meredith,  Thomas,  222,  226 
Merry  (British  Minister),  16 
Messan,  du,  512 
Messen,  King  Freemans,  149 
Mickle,  Robert,  399 
Middleton,  Arthur,  40,  253 
Miller,  Dr.  James  H.,  558,  559,  560 
Miller,  Judge,  419 


Miller,  Juliana,  15,  18,  25 

Mitchell,  Charles,  207 

Mitchell,  Dr.,  24 

Mitchell,  James  D.,  108,  109 

Moale,  398 

Monroe,  James,  60,  61,  66,  243 

Monroe,  Mrs.  James,  61 

Monteagle,  Lord,  465 

Montmorencies,  the,  484 

Mordecai,  Alfred,  78 

Morier,  18 

Morris,  Captain,  U.  S.  N.,  21 

Morris,  John  B.,  179,  332,  333,  401, 

404,407 

Morris,  Robert,  4,  23 
Morse,  S.  B.,  321,  548,  553,  554,  555, 

556 

Morton,  107 
Mosher,  James,  181,  413 
Moss,  262 
Mouton,  John,  413 
Munford,  446 
Murphy,  John,  &  Co.,  549 

N 

Nagle,  187 

Napoleon,  Louis  (Emperor),  483,  484 
Narishkin,  513 
Neal,  John,  185 
Nelson,  John,  207,  301 
Nevins,  Rev.  Dr.,  144 
Nicholas,  John  Spear,  122,  123,  253, 

254,  443 
Nicholas  Nicholaevitch,  Grand  Duke, 

489,  506 

Nicholson  and  Son,  349 
Niles,  Hezekiah,  184,  413 
Noroff,  de,  497,  503 

O 

O'Connor,  Miss,  94,  95 
O'Donnel,  General,  125 
O'Donnell,  183 

O'Donnell,  Columbus,  361,  557 
Oliver,  Robert,  107,  182,  183,  191,  192, 
224,  225,  332,  434 


INDEX 


591 


Oliver,  Thomas,  222,  224 

Oliver,  Mrs.  Thomas,  222 

O'Meara,  485 

Orange,  Prince  of,  448 

Ord,  Miss,  329 

Orem,  John  F.,  557 

Orloff,  Prince,  501 

Ossunce,  Duke  of,  509,  510,  511 

Otis,  Mrs.,  of  Boston,  16 

Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  78 

Otis,  William,  94 

Owens,  Robert  Dale,  11 


Paine,  Anne,  242 

Palmerston,  Lady  (Lady  Cooper),  486 

Palmerston,  Lord,  485,  486 

Parson,  Henry,  413 

Pascault,  Louis,  182,  183 

Patterson,  26 

Patterson,  Joseph  W.,  359 

Patterson,  Robert,  44,  192,  217 

Patterson,  Mrs.  Robert  (Mary  Caton) 
subsequently  Marchioness  of  Welles- 
ley,  43,  44,  192,  194,  216,  217,  218, 
219,  220 

Patterson,  William,  41,  42,  44, 182, 183, 
332 

Patton,  James,  54 

Peale,  Charles  Wilson,  189 

Peale,  Rembrandt,  181,  189 

Pearce,  509 

Pennington,  Josiah,  289 

Pepin,  49 

Peter  the  Great,  490,  527 

Petroa,  Moiza,  514 

Phelps,  Charles  E.,  Judge,  151,  152 

Phelps,  Judge,  of  Vermont,  379, 380 

Phelps,  Miss  (Mrs.  John  Carroll,  of  the 
Manor),  218 

Philip,  King,  154 

Pickens,  Colonel  Edmund,  537 

Pickett,  M.  C.  F.,  549 

Pierrepoint,  185 

Pinkney,  110,  203,  204,  205,  207,  244, 
370 


Pinkney,  Colonel  William,  125 

Plotter,  502,  503,  507,  513,  527,  528 

Pitch,  Colonel  P.  P.,  537 

Pixie,  414 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  519,  548,  558,  559, 

560,  561,  562,  563,  564,  565 
Politica,  18 
Polk,  James,  365 
Porter,  David,  Commodore,  38 
Potter,  General,  136 
Poulter,  528 

Poultney,  Evan,  401,  405 
Poussin,  59 

Prescott,  Jonathan,  78 
Prescott,  William  H.,  429,  430 
Presstman,  Benjamin  C.,  395,  396,  399, 

567 

Priestly,  Dr.,  13 
Purviance,  14 
Purviance,  John,  206 
Purviance,  Robert,  Judge,  105, 183, 420 

R 

Rachel,  35 

Radcliffe,  396,  399 

Randolph,  Miss,  253 

Randolph,  Mrs.,  13 

Randolph,  Edmund,  7,  8,  9 

Randolph,  John,  243,  290 

Ravaillon,  513,  528 

Ravaillon,  Mrs.,  528 

Ravenswood,  Fitzhugh,  143 

Rawls,  William,  346 

Rayborn,  James,  422 

Read,  William  George,  108,  109,  226 

Readel,  Dr.  John,  185,  186 

Redesdale,  Lord,  497,  498 

Reynolds,  William,  549 

Richardson,  George,  195,  207 

Ridgeley,  Colonel,  120 

Ridgeley,  John,  of  Hampton,  183 

Ringgold,  Samuel,  20 

Ritchie,  446 

Ritchie,  Mrs.  (daughter  of  Thackeray), 

432 
Ritchie,  Albert,  179,  417 


592 


INDEX 


Rives  (Minister  to  France),  224,  294 

Roberts,  195 

Roberts,  Nathan  S.,  347 

Robinson,  Conway,  447 

Robinson,  Judge,  351,  550,  552 

Rodney  (Attorney-General),  14 

Rogers,  Dr.,  481 

Rogers,  Lloyd  N.,  557 

Rogers,  Samuel,  463,  464,  465 

Roney,  William,  413 

Roosevelt,  Nicholas  J.,  25,  26,  27,  29, 

30,  31,  33,  48,  52 
Roosevelt,  Mrs.  Nicholas  J.,  1,  24,  28, 

29,  38,  70 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  President,  26 
Rosalie,  Mademoiselle,  223 
Rothermel,  Peter  Ford,  129,  428,  430 
Royall,  Madam  Ann,  65,  216 
Rush,  Mrs.,  17 

Russwurm,  John  B.,  149,  150,  167 
Rutherford,  451 


St.  Clair,  Arthur,  General,  47,  392 

Sanders,  George  W.,  416 

Schley,  Frederick  A.,  301 

Schley,  William,  207 

Schmucker,  Judge,  336 

Schoolfield,  136 

Scott,  Marcella  (Mrs.  Charles  Carroll 
MacTavish),  220 

Scott,  Mary  Ann  (Mrs.  John  Livings 
ton),  407 

Scott,  Otto,  462 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  346 

Scott,  Winfield,  General,  128,  220 

Sefton,  330 

Semmes,  John  E.,  11,  26,  210,  211,  212, 
213,  246,  432,  450,  451,  456,  457, 
566,  567,  570 

Semmes,  Mrs.  John  E.,  450 

Serrurier  (French  Minister),  15,  16,  19, 
24 

Seward,  William  H.,  379,  380,  385,  536 


Seymour,  Thomas  A.,  476,  482,  483, 
499,  500,  505,  506,  509,  513, 527, 528 
Sheppard,  Moses,  145,  285,  286,  287 
Sheridan,  General,  128 
Shipley,  Richard,  287 
Shryock,  Thomas  J.,  425 
Shufelt,  Commodore,  165 
Sigourney,  Mrs.  L.  H.,  440 
Sinnott,  71 

Sisson,  Hugh,  565,  566 
Skinner,  John  S.,  220,  226 
Skinner,  Mrs.  John  S.,  220,  226 
Small,  Jacob,  102 
Small,  William  F.,  413 
Smith,  14,  183,  412,  415 
Smith,  Brigadier  General,  122 
Smith,  Dr.,  148 
Smith,  F.  Hopkinson,  558 
Smith,  Gerritt,  336 
Smith,  Captain  John,  431 
Smith,  Matthew,  288 
Smith,  Samuel,  General,  345,  401,  406 
Smith,  Sidney,  463 
Smith,  Mrs.  S.  H.,  573 
Smith,  S.  Stanhope,  76 
Smith,  Thomas,  281 
Snyder,  118 
Sorrel,  Colonel,  398 
Sparks,  243 
Spear,  Miss,  16 
Sprigg,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  17 
Sprigg,  Carroll,  566 
Sprigg,  William  O.,  550,  551 
Stabler,  Edward,  402 
Stabler,  Edward,  Jr.,  105 
Stackelberg,    Baroness   (wife    of  John 

Frederick  Latrobe),  97, 98, 488, 489 
Stafford,  Baron,  219 
Standard,  of  Richmond,  253,  254 
Stanley,  Henry  M.,  166 
Stanton,   Edwin   (Secretary  of    War), 

131,  391 

Stapleton,  Joseph  K.,  413,  414 
Starr,  Frederick,  166,  167 
Steele,  195 


INDEX 


593 


Steele,  Nevitt,  399 

Steiner,  Dr.  Bernard  C.,  246,  407 

Stephen,  John,  Judge,  338,  341 

Stephenson,  George,  31,  324 

Sterling,  Archibald,  396,  399,  557 

Stevens,  30 

Stevens,  Governor,  117,  119 

Stevens,  Mrs.,  39 

Stevens,  M.  C.,  380 

Stevenson,  George  W.,  535 

Stewart,  of  Richmond,  349,  351 

Stewart,  Captain,  U.  S.  N.,  21 

Stewart,  Dr.,  299 

Stewart,  David,  105,  195 

Stewart,  Jack,  7 

Stewart,  James  E.,  124 

Stewart,    Colonel   William,    184,    333, 

412,  413 

Stockbridge,  Henry,  Judge,  179,  420 
Stockton,  Captain,  141 
Stockton,  Rev.,  48,  49,  51 
Stolssakoff,  General,  512 
Stone,  Governor,  280 
Story,  Judge,  177 
Stoughton,  546 

Strogonoff,  Count,  483,  503,  514 
Strong,  Tim,  375 
Stuart,  Bessie,  236,  237 
Stuart,  Gilbert,  24,  45,  240 
Stuart,  Dr.  James,  182,  234,  235,  237, 

478,  479 

Stuart,  Miss  Margaret  (first  wife  of 
John  H.  B.  Latrobe),  227,  228,  230, 
231,  232,  233,  234,  235,  236,  237, 
286 

Stuart,  Dr.  Richard  S.,  421 

Stuppand,  423 

Sullivan,  James  R.,  413 

Sully,  187 

Surly,  William,  172 

Svenin,  24 

Swann,  James,  360,  363,  459,  463,  465, 
466 

Swann,  Thomas,  445,  556,  557 

Swift,  392 


Swift,  General,  62 
Sykes,  James,  413 


Tamberlik,  503,  506 

Taney,  Roger  B.,  later  Chief  Justice, 
U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  26,  200,  201, 
202,  203,  207  208, 209,  244,  283,  291, 
294,  332,  343,  344,  367,  369,  370,  371, 
400 

Taylor,  Zachary,  General  and  Presi 
dent,  125,  127,  129 

Tchernitieff,  Prince,  499 

Tennant,  Thomas,  182,  183 

Terry,  Seth,  366 

Tevis,  195 

Thackeray,  William  Makepeace,  432, 
433 

Thaesses,  Major,  77 

Thayer,  188 

Thayer,  Sylvanus,  Major,  afterwards 
General,  62,  74,  75,  76,  77,  84, 92, 116, 
130,  131,  132,  133,  134,  392 

Thomas,  Evan,  321,  322 

Thomas,  Phillip  E.,  322,  333,  334,  335 
352,  358,  359,  362,  386,  403 

Thompson,  A.  W.  124 

Thompson,  Henry,  234 

Thompson,  Mrs.  Henry,  234 

Thompson,  the  Misses,  85,  128 

Thornton,  Dr.  William,  9,  10,  12,  167 

Ticknor,  George,  130,  131 

Ting,  John  H.,  396 

Tingendorff,  448 

Tingey,  Commodore,  22,  36 

Todd,  Paine,  240,  242 

Tolstoy,  Count,  500,  523 

Trimble,  Isaac,  General,  76,  335 

Trumbull,  240 

Turnbull,  Alexander,  289 

Turnbull,  Miss  Alison  (afterwards  Mrs. 
Samuel  Lawrence),  222,  223,  224 

Turner,  B.  H.  M.,  Bishop,  157,  164 

Tyler,  127 

Tyson,  Mrs.  Rebecca  (widow  of  Wil 
liam  Howard),  226 


594 


INDEX 


u 

Urquhart,  William,  396 


Vail,  555 

Vallenilla,  Madame,  222,  223,  225 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  367 

Van  Dyke,  Henry,  11 

Van  Ness,  Ann,  40 

Van  Ness,  John  Peter,  M.  G.,  40 

Vansettent,  the  Misses,  448 

Van  Winkle,  R.,  396 

Vestris,  the,  223 

Von  Blume,  Baron,  97 

Von  Blume,  Baroness,  97 

Von  Gerstner,  Chevalier,  324,  392 

Von  Kapf,  the,  family,  183 

W 

Walker,  Samuel  D.,  413 

Wallack,  Mrs.  Francis,  188 

Wallis,  391,  396 

Wallis,  Severn  Teackle,  416,  430,  436, 

546 

Walsh,  Charles,  289 
Walsh,  T.  Yates,  108,  395 
Ward,  Thomas  W.,  457,  458,  459,  460 
Warden,  18 
Waren,  280,  281 
Waring,  Mrs.,  187 
Warner,  20 
Warner,  George,  413 
Warren,  35,  187 
Warren,  Judge,  430 
Washington,  Bushrod,  9,  14,  150 
Washington,  Mrs.  Bushrod,  14 
Washington,  George,  3,  4,  9,  10,  193, 

240,  244,  342,  370,  377,  381,  382, 

478 
Wassily,  479,  487,  495,  502,  505,  507, 

527,  528 
Watkins,  243 

Watkins,  Thomas  N.,  General,  125 
Wayne,  Judge,  367,  368 


Webster,  Daniel,  332,  343,  361,  368, 

370,  371,  372,  373,  374,  375,  376, 

377,  378,  379,  380,  381,  382,  383, 

384,464 

Webster,  Henry,  396 
Weed,  Thurlow,  536 
Welch,  B.  T.,  141 
Wellesley,  Marquis  of,  44,  219 
Wellesley,  Marchioness    of   (see   Mrs. 

Robert  Patterson.) 
Wellington,  Arthur,  Duke  of,  43,  44, 

117,  220,  466 

Wellington,  Duchess  of,  220 
West,  William,  185 
Wharton,  Colonel,  36 
Whelan,  Thomas,  397 
Whistler,  George  Washington,  391,  392, 

393 
Whistler,  George  W.,  Jr.,  393,  517,  518, 

528 

Whistler,  James  McNeill,  392 
Whistler,  Major  John,  391,  392 
White,  366 

White  Apple,  Chief,  306,  307 
White,  Edward  D.  (Chief  Justice),  90 
Wilberforce,  170,  464 
Wilde,  Oscar,  16 
Wilkins,  188 
Wilkins,  Joseph,  361 
Wilkins,  Ross,  48,  49 
Wilkinson,  Joshua  J.,  397 
William  4th,  219 
Williams,  General,  505 
Williams,  Miss,  44 
Williams,  Nathaniel,  145 
Willing,  the  Border  Ruffian,  305,  306 
Willis,  Jesse,  422 
Wilson,  the,  family,  183 
Wilson,  Senator,  131 
Wilson  and  Colston,  348 
Wilson,  James,  264 
Wilson,  James  G.,  379,  380 
Wilton,  Lady,  329 
Winans,  the,  firm,  389,  469 
Winans,  Harrison  &  Eastwick,  393 


INDEX 


595 


Winans,  Harrison  &  Winans,  470,  471, 
495 

Winans,  De  Witt  Clinton,  390 

Winans,  Julia  (Mrs  George  W.  Whist 
ler,  Jr.),  393 

Winans,  Ross,  182,  324,  327,  384,  385, 
386,  387,  388,  389,  390,  391,  392, 

393,  528 

Winans,  Ross,  Jr.,  528 

Winans,  Thomas  D.,  182,  385,  390,  393, 

394,  557 

Winans,  Walter,  395 
Winans,  Walter  Scott,  390 

Winans,  William  Louis,  385,  389,  390, 
391,  393,  394,  395,  469,  471,  472, 
473,  474,  482,  488,  492,  513,  517, 
518 


Winchester,  George,  185,  205,  206,  207 
Winthrop,  Robert  C.,  181,  429,  468 
Wirt,  William,  26,  201,  202,  207,  332, 

343,  369,  373 
Wise,  178 
Wood,  187 

Woodhouse,  Lady,  522 
Woodward,  Professor^  415 
Worth,  Major,  77,  78,  79,  91 
Worthington,  Judge,  197,  200 
Worthington,  Mary,  501,  506,  507,  512, 

514.  523 
Wykoff,  Henry,   Chevalier,  483,  484, 

485 
Wynd,  196 


TOPICAL  INDEX 


Addresses   delivered   after    1880,    568- 

569 

African  colonization,  61-62,  139-171, 
285,  366,  368-369,  421,  423,  464, 
470 

Exploring  the  Niger,  140-141 
Making  Map  of  Liberia,  141 
Naming  Liberia,  142 
Emigration   to  Liberia  from  Balti 
more,  144,  147-148. 
Writing  a  constitution,  146-147 
Elected  President  of  American  Col 
onization  Society,  150 
Letters  from  George  Bancroft,  150- 

151 
Public   appreciation  of  work,    151- 

153,  168-171 

Slavery,  153-156,  162-167 
Lincoln   on   slavery,    156-157,    161, 

164-165 

Grady's  speech  in  Boston,    158-159 
Maryland    the    leader   in    coloniza 
tion,   167-169 

Elected  head  of  State  Society,   167 
"Alliance"   frigate   which   made   first 
voyage  from  America  to  India,  23 
Ancestry,  97,  448^49 
Appearance  of  B.  H.  Latrobe,  23 
Appearance  of  Mrs.  B.  H.  Latrobe,  23 
Appearance  of  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  97 
Appearance,  regard  for,  in  Russia,  491, 

496 

Cost  of  fur  coats,  491-492 
Architectural  efforts,    444-447 
Architectural  work  of  elder  Latrobe,  33, 

40,  46,  69 

Architecture,  American,  11 
Associates  in  law  office,  student,  108- 
109 


B 

Ball,  subscription,  for  Greek  struggle 

for  Independence,  111-112 
Baltimore    and    Ohio    Railroad,    189, 
320-363,  368,  387,  392 

Louis  McLane  invited  to  presidency, 
189 

Latrobe  as  counsel  for  Railroad,  320, 
336,  352. 

First    railroad    company    in    U.    S. 
organized,  322 

Methods  of  building  proposed,  322- 
326 

Race  between  first  engine  and  car 
and  horse,  326 

Letter  from  Peter  Cooper,  327-328 

Description  of  early  railway  ride  in 
England,  328-330 

Personages  present  at  laying  of  B. 
&  O.  corner  stone,  331-333 

Acquiring  rights  of  way,  333-335 

Letter  declining  high  office  in  Com 
pany,  352-358 

Description  of  presidents  of   Com 
pany,  358-363 

Ross    Winans'    railroad    inventions, 
384-389 

Winans  friction  wheel,  384-385,  387- 

388 

Baltimore  in  1824,  180-184 
Benefit  of  clergy,  281-282 
Bonaparte,  Madame,  40-41 

Her  marriage,  42 

Its  annulment,  43 

Character,  44 

Death,  45 
Botetourt  Springs,  description  of,  263- 

264 
Bowie  (Bouy)  knife,  275 


597 


598 


TOPICAL  INDEX 


Bravery,  discussion  on,  449-451 
Brother  changes  his  profession,  284- 
285 

C 

Canal  routes,  139 

Capitol,  design  of,  10-11,  33 

"Corn-cob"  capitals  designed  by  B. 

H.  Latrobe,  11 

Sculptors  imported  to  work  on,  46 
Elder    Latrobe's    work    praised    by 

Madame  Royall,  65 
Carroll  family,  214-220 
Appearance    of    Charles    Carroll    of 

Carrollton,  215 

Appearance    of    Mrs.    Robert    Pat 
terson,  216-218 

Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Canal,  4 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal,  336-351, 

368 
Litigation  with  B.  &  O.  Railroad, 

337-345 

History  of,  344-351 
Claiborne  family,  280 

"Claiborne  Rebellion,"  280-281,  282- 

283 

Clients,  early,  287-288 
Coat  of  arms  of  Latrobe  family,  449 
Conversation  with  James  Madison, 

242-245 
Cost  of  living  in  Baltimore  in  1830, 

455 
Cost  of  living  in  the  Mississippi  region 

during  the  Revolution,  303-304 
Cottages  in  Baltimore  Row  at  White 
Sulphur  designed  by  Latrobe,  452 
Country  home,  452-454 

D 

Dancing  teacher  of  Marie  Antoinette, 

39-40 

Death  of  Latrobe,  572 
Debt  of  Maryland,  457-463 
Appointed  counsel  for  creditors,  457 
Letter   from    Baring   Brothers,    the 
.creditors,  458 


Generous  compensation  by  the  Bar 
ings,  459 
Honorable  methods  of  the  Barings, 

460 

Delphian  Club,  184-187 
Dinners  at  White  House,  12-14 
Drama  in  Baltimore,   187-188 
Drawing,  cleverness  in,  58-60 

E 

Earthquake  shock  in  Washington,   17 
Eulogy,  in  speech  of  John  K.  Cowen, 
570-572 

F 

Family  nurse,  devotion  of,  36-37 

Death  by  burning,  56-57 
Fancy  ball  in  Baltimore  in  1829, 

220-223,  226,  287 
Fireplace  heater,  442-443 
Flute,  learning  to  play,  114 

G 

Georgetown  College,  life  at,  53-57,  63 

H 

Hairdressing,  two  centuries  ago,  6 


Inauguration  of  Monroe,  60 

Indian  nations,  529 

Journey  through  territory,  529-533 
Effort  at  keeping  them  neutral, 

535-537 

Discussion  of  their  claims,  537-540 
Treaty  made  in  1866,  540-541 
Contract  as  counsel,  541-547 
Vindictive  attack  by   congressman, 
542-543,  545-546 


Journey    down    Mississippi    described 

by  sister,  86-88 
Journey  to  and  from  Natchez,  264-270, 

302-303,  317-319 


TOPICAL  INDEX 


599 


Accident  to  carriage,  268-269 
Return  after  marriage  to  Baltimore, 

270-280 
Voyage  down  Mississippi,  302-303 

K 
King  Ball,  a,  in  St.  Louis,  272-273 


Lady    Blessington,    reminiscences    of, 

483-485 

Latin  verse,  facility  in,  57-71 
Lawyer,  life  as,  172-226  ' 

Starting  in  straitened  circumstances, 

172-173 

Admission  to  Bar,    107-108,    196 
Admission  to  Courts,  174 
Advice  to  young  lawyers,   175-178 
Eulogy    pronounced    by    Historical 

Society,  179-180 
Remarkable  case    of    identification, 

197-198 
McCullough,  the  counterfeiter,  198- 

200 
Famous    legal    associates,    200-210, 

369-384 

Students  in  his  law  office,  395-399 
Letter  from  Christopher  Hughes,  137- 

138 
Literary    efforts,    102-105,    288,    290, 

432-433 

Justice  Practice,  418-419 
Eulogies  of  the  Practice,  419-420 
Poetical  writings,  438-439 
Letters  from  Mrs.  Sigourney,  440 
Letter  from  Longfellow,  440-441 
Louis     Napoleon,     reminiscences    of, 

484-485 
Louisville,  in  1833,  278 

M 

Manners  in  America  a  century  ago, 

276-277 

Marriage,  first,  227 
Description  of  Margaret  Stuart,  235- 

237 


Marriage,  second,  260 
Devotion  to  wife,  260-262 
Description  of  Charlotte  Claiborne, 

270 
Maryland  Historical  Society,  415,  417- 

418 

Maryland  Institute,  184,  412-417 
Eulogies  on  his  work  for,  415-416 
Masonry,    connection    with,    421-422, 

424-425 

Elected  Grand  Master,  426 
Military  career,  116 

Sword  presented  by  Duke  of  Wel 
lington  to  General  Harper,  117 
Review  of  militia,  117 
Captain  of  military  company,  117- 

118 

Reception  to  Lafayette,  118-121 
Baltimore  Light  Infantry  visits  Phil 
adelphia,  122-124 

Offered  command  of  volunteer  regi 
ment,  124 
Review  of  battles  of  Mexican  War, 

125,  127-128 

Kosciuszko  Monument,  125-127 
President  of   Board  of  Visitors   to 

West  Point,   127-129 
Efforts  at  obtaining  promotion  for 

Colonel  Thayer,  130-134 
Letter  from  John  Eager  Ho  ward,  134 
Letter  from  General  John  Gibbon, 

135-137 

Mind  reading  seance,  456-457 
Minute  details,  attention  to,  a  char 
acteristic,  492 
Miserliness,   as   a   means   to   charity, 

285-286 

Monticello,  description  of,  248-251 
Montpelier,  description  of,  239-240 
Mud-daubers,  habits  of,  4-5 

N 
Natchez  Indians,  destruction  of,  306- 

307 

New  Orleans,  in  1834,  308-317 
Quadroon  Ball,  313-317 


600 


TOPICAL  INDEX 


New  Oilcans  Water  Works,  32-33,  60 
Novels  and  writings  of  John  P.  Ken 
nedy,  430-434 

O 

Oregon  country,  rejection  of,  advo 
cated  in  1815  because  of  difficul 
ties  of  travel,  330-331 

Osmun  Latrobe's  military  services, 
397-398 

P 

Painter,  ability  as  a,  426-427 
Letter  from  Rothermel,  428 
Letter  from  Prescott,  the  historian, 

429-430 
Illustration  made  for  Swallow  Barn, 

435 

Parks,  public,  in  Baltimore,   556-558 
Druid  Hill  Park  acquired  for  city, 

557 

President  of  Park  Board,   557-558 
Personal    associations    with    Latrobe, 

566-567,  570 
Associated    in    suit    with    Latrobe, 

567-568 
Cleverness    shown    by    Latrobe    in 

this  case,  568 
Philokrisean    Society,    102,    107,    195, 

290 

Pittsburgh, 

Journey  of  family  to,  46-48 
Life  of  family  in,  48-53 
Return  of  family  from,  53 
Poe,  Edgar  Allan,   558-566 
First    discovery    of    Poe's    genius, 

559-561 

Meeting  with  Poe,  561-563 
Monument  erected  by  Childs,  564- 

566 

Poem,  called  "States  of  the  Border," 
written  as  an  appeal  in  1861, 
534-535 

Poem  written  by  S.  Teackle  Wallis 
for  dedication  of  Greenmount  Cem 
etery,  436-437 


Political  activities,  443-444 

Nomination  for  legislature  declined, 

443 
Appointed  director  of  Penitentiary, 

444 

Prayer  for  law  students  by  Dr.  John 
son,  461 
Prayer  written  in  1846,  572-573 

R 

Raid  by  border  ruffians,  304-306 

Relatives,  97-99 

Ruin,  narrow  escape  from,  by  theft, 

455-456 

Russian  experiences,  474-528 
Meeting  with  Madame  de  Bartholo- 

maie,  474-475 
Presented    to    Emperor,    476,    500, 

507-513 
Presented    to    Empress,    505,    507- 

513 
Presented  to  Grand  Duke  Constan- 

tine,  476-478 
Presented  to  Grand  Duke  Nicholas, 

506 
Presented  to  Grand  Duchess  Marie, 

513-516 
Letter  from  Grand  Duke  Constan- 

tine  acknowledging  gift  of  Wash 
ington  autograph,  478  ,&  A  :«,.>  *       ^ 
Seized    with   Asiatic    cholera,    479- 

482 
Meeting    with   Russian    relative    in 

St.  Petersburg,  488-489 
Daily  drive,  494 
Interview  with  Prince  Gortschakoff, 

498-500 

Ball  given  to  Imperial  family,  501 
Valet,  502-503,  507,  527-528 
Opera,  503 
Visits     to     institutions     for     noble 

women,  504-505 
Journey  to  Moscow,  517 
Troika  ride,  description  of,^518 
Visit  to  the  Kremlin,   519,  ^521-522 
Moscow  theatre,  519 


601 


Visit  to  Moscow  Foundling  Asylum, 

521,  525-526 

Farewell  dinner  to  friends,  523 
Travelling  in  Russia,  524-525 
Coachman,  527-528 
Russian  women  intelligent,  496-497 


Scale  of  living  in  Baltimore  in  1824, 

189-190 
Society  in  Washington  a  century  ago, 

15-16 

Steamboats 

First  one  on  western  waters  built 
by  Nicholas  J.  Roosevelt,  25-29 
Fulton's  claims,  29-31 
Built  by  father  in  Pittsburgh,  32-33 
Shipbuilding  works  in  Pittsburgh,  48 
Launchings  of  first  steamboats,  51- 

53 
Suspected  of  treason  in  1861,  385 

T 

Telegraph,  electric,  first,  company,  548- 

556 

Meeting  with  Morse,  553-554 
First   line   between   Baltimore   and 

Washington,  555 
Transportation    methods,    comparison 

of,  1-2,  320,  330-331 
Treaty  with  Great  Britain,  14-15 

U 

Union    Bank    of    Maryland,    399-410 
Elected  director,  399 
Description  of  bank  riots,  401-407 
University  of  Virginia,  description  of, 
246-248 

V 

Versatility,  174 

Voyage,  first,  to  Europe,  459,  463-468 
Meets  Samuel  Rogers,  463 
Visits  the  House  of  Lords,  465 
Ship  goes  on  rocks  on  return  trip, 
466-468 


Voyage,  second,  to  Europe  in  1857,  469 
Meets  W.  L.  Winans  in  London,  469 
Tour  of    Europe  with    son,    Ferdi 
nand,  471 

Return  to  London,  471 
Consulted   by   Winans   about   Rus 
sian   railroad   contract,   471 
Liberal  compensation,  472 
Offered  big  fee  by  Winans  to  go  to 

Russia,  472 

Leaves  for  St.  Petersburg,  473 
Departure  from  St.  Petersburg,  488- 
489,  528 

W 

War  with  Great  Britain,  19,  46 
Captured  British  colors,  21-22 
Capitol  burned  by  British,  32 
Vessel  containing    father's    machin 
ery  captured  by  British,  32 
Battle  of  Lake  Champlain,  49 
Peace  concluded,  52 
Washington  monument,  194 
Watch  House,  195 
West  Point 

Entrance  first  suggested,  62 

Ordered  to,  for  examination,  63 

Journey  to,  73 

Life  at,  74-85 

March  of  Cadets  to  Boston,  77-81 

Narrow  escape  from  death  at  salute 

firing,   81-82 

Honor  man  of  Senior  class,  84 
Resignation  from,  91-92 
Verses  written  when  leaving,  95 
White  Sulphur  Springs,  description  of, 

251-259 
Will  of  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton, 

291 
Cause   of   estrangement  of   Charles 

Harper,  292-298 

Agreement  of  relatives  on,  298-301 
Winans   railroad  in   Russia,   389-391, 
393-395 


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LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-35m-7,'62(D296s4)458 


Semmesj  J.E. 
John  H.B.  Latrobe. 


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